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BELEAGUERED    IN 
PEKING 

THE      BOXER'S      WAR 
AGAINST   THE    FOREIGNER 


BY 

ROBERT    COLTMAN,   Jr.,    M.D. 

Professor  of  Surgery  in  Imperial  University;   Professor  of  Anatomy,  the  Imperial  Tung  Wen  Kuan; 
Surgeon,  Imperial  Maritime  Customs;  Surgeon,  Imperial  Chinese  Railways. 
Author  of  "The  Chinese,  Their  Present  and  Future  :   Medical,  Political,  and  Social." 


3IIu0trateIi  toit|) 


PHILADELPHIA: 

F.  A.   DAVIS    COMPANY,   PUBLISHERS 

1901 


Copyright,   1901 
By    F.   a.    DAVIS    COMPANY 


J(9ount  KPIcaiaant  PrintctH 

J.  Horace  McFarland  Company 
Harrisburc  •  Pennsylvania 


PREFACE 

IN  the  following  pages  I  have  endeavored  to 
give  an  accurate  and  comprehensive  account 
of  the  Siege  in  Peking  and  of  the  Boxer 
movement   that   led    up   to    it. 

Authentic  details  furnished  by  representatives 
of  those  legations  whose  work  has  been  specially 
mentioned  have  made  possible  a  greater  detail 
in  those  cases.  I  regret  that  others  who  had 
promised  me  accounts  of  their  work  have  failed 
to    furnish   the    promised    material. 

The  siege  at  Pei  Tang  or  North  Cathedral, 
coincident  with  that  of  the  legations  and  civil- 
ians, is  not  described  for  the  reason  that  we 
were  absolutely  cut  ofiP  from  them  for  over  sixty 
days  and  knew  nothing  of  their  movements. 
Much  detail  that  might  be  interesting  to  many 
I  have  been  obliged  to  omit,  as  it  would  make 
the    book   too    cumbersome. 

I  make  no  claim  for  the  book  as  a  literary 
efifort,  the  object  being  to  state  the  facts  in  the 
clearest   manner   possible.     The    illustrations    are 

(iii) 


iv  PREFACE 

from  actual  photographs,  the  authenticity  of 
which  is  absolutely  proved,  and  these  carefully 
studied,  add  much  to  the  information  of  the 
volume.- 

To  my  sixteen-year-old  son,  the  youngest  sol- 
dier to  shoulder  a  rifle  during  the  siege,  I  am 
indebted  for  much  of  the  diary  and  great  help 
in  copying.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  book 
Was  written  with  bullets  whistling  about  us  as 
we  sat  in  the  students'  library  building  of  the 
English  legation. 

There  are  several  men  whose  work  entitles 
them  to  decorations  from  all  the  countries  rep- 
resented in  the  siege,  and  their  names  will  be 
indelibly  written  in  our  memories  even  if  the 
powers  and  ministers  concerned  overlook  them. 
I  refer  to  F.  A.  Gamewell,  August  Chamot, 
Colonel    Shiba,  and    Herbert    G.  Squiers. 

ROBERT   COLTMAN,  Jr.,  M.D. 
Peking,  China,  September  lo,  1900. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Riot  at  Marco  Polo  Bridge  —  Men  Wounded  by  Captain 
Norregaard  —  Dr.  Coltman  Accompanies  Governor  Hu 
as  Special  Commissioner  to  Investigate  —  Anti- Foreign 
Feeling  Expressed  by  Generals  of  Tung  Fu's  Army  — 
A  Bargain  with  Prince  Tuan l 

II.  Yu  Hsien  Appointed  Governor  of  Shantung,  Removed 
by  British  Demands,  Only  to  be  Rewarded  —  Yuanshih 
Kai  Succeeds  Him  —  Causes  of  Hatred  of  Converts  by 
People  and  Boxers  —  The  Boxers  and  Their  Tenets  — 
The  Empress  Consults  Astrologers 31 

III,  Cables   to  America   Describing   Growth  of   Boxer  Move- 

ment from  January  to  June,  1900 46 

IV.  Diary  of  the  Author  from  June  i  to  June  20    ....     62 

V.  Diaries   of   the   Author   and    His    Son   from   June    20   to 

End  of  Siege 78 

VI.  Reflections,    Incidents,    and    Memoranda  Written  During 

Siege 143 

VII.  Work  During  Siege  Done  by  Russians  —  Work  by  Amer- 
icans     167 

VIII.  Work  Done  by  Staff  of  Imperial  Maritime,  Customs,  and 

British  Legation  Staff 190 

IX.  Work    Done    by    Austro  -  Hungarians  —  Mr.    and    Mrs. 

Chamot 209 

X.  Edicts    Issued    by    the    Empress    During    Siege,   with    a 

Few  Comments  Thereon 221 

XI.  Now  What? 24s 

(v) 


Beleaguered  in   Peking 


CHAPTER   I 

RIOT  AT  MARCO  POLO  BRIDGE  — MEN  WOUNDED  BY  CAPTAIN 
NORREGAARD  —  DR.  COLTMAN  ACCOMPANIES  GOVERNOR 
HU  AS  SPECIAL  COMMISSIONER  TO  INVESTIGATE  — ANTI- 
FOREIGN  FEELING  EXPRESSED  BT  GENERALS  OF  TUNG 
FU'S   ARMY  — A   BARGAIN   fVITH   PRINCE   TUAN. 

IN  the  autumn  of  1898^ 
in  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber, very  shortly  after 
the  famous  coup  d^etat  of 
the  Empress  Dowager  of 
China,  an  event  occurred 
which  may  have  been  the 
influence  that  shaped 
after-events,  or  it  may  be 
that  this  occurrence  was 
but  the  premature  explo- 
sion of  a  mine  being  pre- 
pared by  the  Empress 
and  her  evil  advisers, 
intended  to  shake  the 
civilized  world  at  a  later 
date.  I  refer  to  the  riot 
at  Lukouch'iao,  known  to  the  English-speaking 
world  as  Marco  Polo  bridge,  from  its  having 
been  accurately  described  by  that  early  traveler. 

A  (0 


The  author  in  Chinese  dress 


2  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

This  place  had  curiously  enough  been  chosen 
as  the  northern  terminus  of  the  Hangkow-Peking 
railway,  although  ten  miles  west  of  Peking,  and 
the  road  consequently  is  generally  known  as  the 
Lu  Han  railway. 

The  political  history  of  the  struggle  between 
the  Russian,  French  and  British  diplomats  in 
Peking,  with  reference  to  obtaining  the  conces- 
sion for,  and  the  financing  of,  this  road,  is  very 
interesting,  and  would  fill  a  book  of  its  own; 
but  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  enter  into 
this  narrative  more  than  to  state  that  finally  the 
Belgians,  acting  for  Russia  and  France,  obtained 
the  concession  to  build  and  finance  this  greatest 
trunk  line  of  China. 

To  connect  this  line  with  the  existing  Peking- 
Tientsin  railway,  a  short  track  was  laid  from 
Fengtai,  the  second  station  south  of  Peking,  to 
Lukouch'iao,  and  a  fine  iron  bridge  built  over 
the  Hum  Ho  or  Muddy  river,  a  few  hundred 
yards  west  of  the  original  stone  Marco  Polo 
bridge.  This  short  connecting  line  is  but  three 
miles  in  length,  and  is  the  property  of  the  Peking- 
Tientsin  railway. 

With  this  prelude,  allow  me  to  proceed  with 
the  event  with  which  I  was  somewhat  closely 
identified,  and  am  able  to  speak  of  with  knowl- 
edge and  accuracy. 

On    October    23    I  was    called   to    Fengtai    to 


CALL    TO    FENGTAI  3 

amputate  the  leg  of  a  poor  coolie,  who  had 
been  run  over  by  the  express  train  from  Tien- 
tsin; and  after  the  operation  partook  of  tiffin  at 


MARBLE    BRIDGE    LEADING    TO    "FORBIDDEN   CITY" 

A  beautiful  bridge,  which  would  be  a  credit  to  any  city.  Marco 
Polo,  the  great  traveler,  nearly  a  thousand  years  ago  described  a 
similar  bridge,  thus  showing  how  old  is  Chinese  civilization  com- 
pared with  our  own. 

the  residence  of  A.  G.  Cox,  resident  engineer 
of  the  Peking  section  of  the  Peking-Tientsin  rail- 
way. His  other  guests  were  Major  Radcliflfe,  of 
the   Indian   army  service,   on  what   is   known   as 


4  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

language-leave  in  China,  and  C.  W.  Campbell, 
official  interpreter  of  the  British  legation. 

During  the  meal  the  newly  completed  iron 
bridge  was  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Cox,  and  we  were 
all  invited  to  accompany  him  after  tiffin  on  a 
trolley  to  inspect  the  bridge.  This  I  was  unable 
to  do,  as  a  professional  engagement  in  Peking  in 
the  afternoon  at  four  o'clock  prevented. 

The  next  morning  I  received  the  following  tel- 
egram, which  should  have  been  delivered  the 
night  before  ;  but  owing  to  the  closing  of  the  city 
gates  no  attempt  was  made  to  deliver  it : 

"  CoLTMAN,  Peking : — Come  to  Fengtai  at  once.  Cox  and  Nor- 
rcgaard  both  seriously  wounded  in  riot  at  Lukouch'iao. 

"  Knowles." 

I  immediately  rode  in  my  cart  to  Machiapu, 
the  Peking  terminus  of  the  Peking-Tientsin  rail- 
way, and  wired  down  to  Fengtai  for  an  engine  to 
come  and  take  me  down. 

In  an  hour's  time  I  reached  Fengtai,  and  went 
at  once  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Cox,  to  find  both 
himself  and  Captain  Norregaard,  the  resident  en- 
gineer and  builder  of  the  bridge  at  Lukouch'iao, 
with  bandages  about  their  heads,  and  a  general 
appearance  of  having  been  roughly  used.  Their 
story  of  the  riot  was  told  me  while  I  removed 
the  dressings,  applied  by  my  assistant,  a  native 
medical  student  of  the  railway  hospital  at  Fpng- 
tai,  the  day  before. 


TROUBLE    AT    THE    BRIDGE  5 

Mr.  Cox  stated  that  he  and  his  two  guests  had 
gone  shortly  after  tiffin  on  a  trolley  to  Captain 
Norregaard's  residence,  near  the  bridge,  and  hav- 
ing added  Norregaard  to  their  party,  proceeded 
on  foot  to  the  bridge.  Near  the  eastern  entrance 
stood  a  party  of  Kansu  soldiers,  numbering  fifty  or 
more,  who,  upon  the  approach  of  the  foreigners, 
saluted  them  with  offensive  epithets,  in  which  the 
well-known  "yang  kuei  tzu"  or  "foreign  devil" 
was  frequently  repeated. 

Mr.  Campbell,  who  spoke  Chinese  fluently,  re- 
monstrated with  the  men,  and  endeavored  to  have 
them  stand  aside  and  allow  the  party  to  cross  the 
bridge;  but  they  obstinately  barred  the  entrance, 
and  warned  the  foreigners  back. 

At  this  juncture  a  military  official  of  low  rank 
appeared  on  the  track,  and  Campbell  appealed  to 
him  to  quiet  the  men,  and  to  allow  them  to  inspect 
the  bridge.  This  officer  replied  that  the  men  were 
not  of  his  company  and  he  had  no  power  over 
them  ;  but  Campbell,  knowing  well  the  Chinese 
nature,  at  once  told  him  that  they  should  consider 
him  responsible  for  any  trouble,  whether  he  was 
their  particular  officer  or  not. 

Upon  this  the  officer  ordered  the  men  to  open 
a  passage  for  the  foreigners,  which  they  promptly 
did,  and  the  party  of  four  crossed  the  bridge. 
The  officer,  after  they  had  entered  the  bridge,  left 
the  men  and  disappeared.     They  remained  a  quar- 


6  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

ter  of  an  hour  on  the  farther  side  of  the  bridge 
and  then  returned. 

As  they  again  neared  the  eastern  side,  they 
saw  the  same  gang  of  ruffians  awaiting  them, 
with  stones  in  their  hands,  and,  upon  their  arriv- 
ing within  range,  were  saluted  with  a  volley  of 
stones,  many  of  which  took  effect.  They  val- 
iantly charged  upon  the  men,  and  Cox,  being 
rather  severely  hit,  and  spying  out  the  man  who 
had  struck  him,  chased  him  right  into  the  crowd 
and  knocked  him  down  with  a  terrific  blow.  As 
Cox  stands  six  feet  four,  and  is  a  remarkably  mus- 
cular man,  this  fellow's  punishment  was  severe. 

The  mob,  however,  turned  upon  Cox,  who 
was  separated  from  his  companions  some  thirty 
odd  feet,  and,  surrounding  him,  bore  him  by 
sheer  weight  and  number  to  the  ground,  not, 
however,  before  he  had  placed  several  of  them 
hors  du  combat. 

At  this  moment  Captain  Norregaard  received 
a  severe  stone  cut  just  above  his  eyes,  which 
severed  a  small  artery  and  covered  his  face  with 
blood.  Not  knowing  how  dangerously  he  was 
wounded,  and  believing  Mr.  Cox  to  be  in  dan- 
ger of  his  life,  Norregaard  drew  his  revolver  and 
fired  two  shots  into  the  mob.  The  effect  was 
instantaneous.  The  brutal  cowards  dropped  Cox 
at  once,  and  ran  away  like  sheep  toward  their 
encampment,  half  a  mile  distant. 


AFTER    THE    RIOT  7 

After  tying  a  handkerchief  around  his  head, 
and  assisting  Cox  to  get  up,  the  party  hastily  ran 
to  the  residence  of  Norregaard  and  brought 
Mrs.  Norregaard  and  her  eight-year-old  son  to 
the  trolley,  upon  which  the  whole  party  returned 
to  Fengtai. 

Cox  then  sent  a  command  out  by  wire  for  all 
the  engineers  working  on  the  Lu  Han  railway  to 
give  up  their  posts  and  retire  with  him  to  Tien- 
tsin to  await  the  settlement  of  the  riot  by  the 
Chinese  officials,  as  well  as  to  obtain  some  guar- 
anty of  future  good  conduct  on  the  part  of  the 
government  troops,  who  were  yet  to  arrive  from 
the  southwest. 

After  dressing  the  wounds  of  these  two  gen- 
tlemen they  took  the  train  for  Tientsin,  and  the 
writer  returned  to  Peking. 

The  next  day,  or  two  days  after  the  riot,  I 
received  a  message  from  Hu  Chih-fen,  the  gov- 
ernor of  Peking,  requesting  me  to  call  upon  him 
at  Imbeck's  hotel  at  once.  I  found  the  old  gen- 
tleman with  twenty  retainers  awaiting  me.  He 
stated  that  he  had  been  appointed  a  special  com- 
missioner by  the  Empress  Dowager  to  proceed 
to  Lukouch'iao  and  investigate  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  riot  two  days  previously,  as 
well  as  to  inquire  minutely  into  the  condition  of 
two  wounded  soldiers  reported  by  their  officers 
to  have  been  wantonly  shot  and  dangerously  hurt 


8  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

by  Captain  Norregaard.  He  desired  me  to  ac- 
company him  into  the  camp,  and  examine  the 
wounds  as  an  expert,  so  that  he  could  make  a 
proper  report  to  the  Empress. 

I  confess  I  did  not  much  care  to  go  alone 
into  the  camp  of  the  famous  Kansu,  haters  of 
foreign,  but  I  was  under  many  obligations  to 
Governor  Hu,  and  wanted  to  oblige  him.  Be- 
sides, there  was  a  spice  of  adventure  about  the 
undertaking  that  was  pleasant  to  a  correspondent. 
I  preferred  to  go  armed,  however,  as,  although 
knowing  a  revolver  would  be  of  no  use  in  a  hos- 
tile camp  for  offensive  warfare,  yet  if  Governor 
Hu  remained  with  me,  I  reasoned,  I  could  by 
placing  a  revolver  to  his  head  and  holding  him 
hostage  prevent  any  harm  to  myself — believing 
as  I  did  that  the  Empress'  special  commissioner's 
person  would  be  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  her  gen- 
erals. The  sequel  proved  how  false  this  belief 
was,  and  that  before  many  hours. 

So  I  requested  permission  to  return  home  for 
a  moment  to  obtain  a  small  instrument  I  might 
need,  as  well  as  to  inform  my  wife  of  my  leaving 
the  city,  that  she  might  not  be  anxious  if  I  did 
not  return  until  after  dark. 

Governor  Hu  replied  that  I  could  get  what- 
ever instrument  I  needed  at  the  railway  hospital 
at  Fengtai,  and  that  he  would  se>nd  one  of  his 
retainers  with  a  message  to  my  wife.     I  insisted. 


WITH    HU   AS    COMMISSIONER 


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MAIN    STREET    OF    PEKING    FROM    THE    CITY   WALL 

This  shows  the  main  street  of  Peking — its  "Market  Street,"  as 
Philadelphians  might  say,  or  its  "Strand,"  from  the  English  point 
of  view.  Although  a  main  street  it  is  scarcely  better  than  a  coun- 
try road,  and  busy  trading  seems  to  be  going  on  in  the  foreground 
in  the  open  air.  Here  and  there  a  sign  indicates  that  business  is 
conducted  within,  and  that  unavoidable  feature  of  a  Chinese  city, 
the  open  pool  of  stagnant  water,  is  in  evidence. 

however,  that  a  return  home  was  imperative,  and 
that  I  would  rejoin  him  in  half  an  hour.  Where- 
upon he  decided  to  order  tiffin  in  the  meantime, 
and  told  me  to  hurry  back,  take  tiffin  with  him 


10  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

at  the  hotel,  and  we  would  then  proceed  to 
Machiapu,  where  a  special  train  would  be  waiting 
for  us. 

I  hastened  home,  obtained  my  Smith  &  Wes- 
son six-shooter,  and,  after  a  good  tiffin  with  Gov- 
ernor Hu,  rode  in  a  springless  cart  to  Machiapu, 
entrained,  and  was  speedily  at  the  station  at  Lu- 
kouch'iao. 

Upon  our  alighting  from  the  cars  we  were  met 
by  a  sub-official  from  the  camps,  and  were  accom- 
panied by  him,  and  about  twenty  Kansu  soldiers, 
to  the  entrance  to  the  railroad  bridge,  the  site  of 
the  riot  two  days  before. 

Here  Hu  ordered  the  bridge  watchmen  to  be 
brought  before  him,  and  he  interrogated  them  as 
to  the  occurrences  described  by  Cox  and  Nor- 
regaard.  The  two  watchmen's  stories  were  the 
exact  counterpart  of  the  two  foreigners' ;  they 
agreed  in  every  particular,  and  placed  the  whole 
blame  on  the  Kansu  soldiers. 

I  was  surprised  at  the  fearless  testimony  of 
these  two  poor  watchmen,  one  of  whom  was 
afterward  murdered  by  the  soldiers  for  testifying 
against  them. 

Hu  now  walked  to  an  inn  in  the  village  of 
Lukou,  and  told  the  sub-official  to  order  the 
general  and  colonels  of  all  the  regiments  quar- 
tered near-by  to  appear  before  him  at  once,  as 
he  would   hold  an  investigation   by  order  of   the 


BEGINNING    OF    INVESTIGATION  ii 

Empress.  He  and  I  drank  tea  until  they  ar- 
rived. 

The  first,  a  General  Chang,  appeared  in  about 
fifteen  minutes.  We  knew  some  one  of  import- 
ance was  coming  by  the  hubbub  in  the  court- 
yard, the  murmur  of  voices,  and  the  sound  of 
horses'  moving  feet.  Then  a  soldier  appeared 
in  the  doorway,  and  announced : 

"General  Chang,  of  the  Kansu  cavalry,  has 
arrived." 

"Ch'ing,"  replied  Hu,  and  immediately  there 
stood  before  us  as  ferocious  looking  a  ruffian  as 
the  world  could  well  produce.  A  tall,  weather- 
beaten  man,  fifty  years  of  age  or  more,  with 
rather  heavy  (for  a  Chinaman)  yet  black  mus- 
taches, and  a  more  than  ordinarily  prominent 
nose;  dressed  in  a  dark  blue  gown,  satin  high- 
top  boots,  official  hat  with  premier  button  and 
peacock  feather,  held  at  right  angles  from  the 
rear  of  his  button  by  an  expensive  piece  of  jade. 
His  eyes  were  deep-set  and  small,  and  the  whole 
expression  of  his  face  was  ferocious  and  cruel. 

He  only  slightly  inclined  his  head  to  Hu, 
took  no  notice  of  me,  and,  ignoring  Chinese 
ceremony,  proceeded  at  once  to  the  highest 
seat  in  the  little  room,  and  seated  himself  in 
the  intensely  stifle  attitude  of  the  god  of  war 
one  usually  sees  in  a  Chinese  temple.  Hu 
seemed    completely    taken    aback    at    this    inso- 


12  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

lence,  and  allowed  the  ruffian  to  remain  in  the 
seat   of   honor   throughout   the    interview. 

Before  Hu  had  become  acquainted,  by  his 
polite  questions,  with  the  age,  rank,  and  prov- 
ince of  his  haughty  guest,  four  other  military 
officers  of  the  rank  of  colonel  and  lieutenant- 
colonel  had  arrived,  namely,  Chao,  Ma,  Wang, 
and   Hung. 

Finding  their  general  in  the  head  seat,  and 
noting  his  imperious  bearing,  they  took  their 
cue  from  him  and  maintained  throughout  the 
interview  the  most  lofty  manner,  and  treated 
Hu  more  like  a  subordinate  than  a  civil  officer 
of  the  premier  rank  and  a  special  high  commis- 
sioner of  Her  Majesty  the  Empress  Dowager. 

After  a  few  mouthfuls  of  tea,  Hu  informed 
them  in  most  polite  and  bland  terms  that  as  he 
was  Director -General  of  imperial  railways,  as 
well  as  Governor  of  the  metropolitan  prefecture 
of  Shuntienfu,  Her  August  Majesty,  the  Em- 
press Dowager,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  had  appointed 
him  to  visit  the  general  and  officers  of  the 
Kansu  regiments  in  camp  at  this  place,  to  in- 
quire into  the   circumstances  of  the  late   riot. 

He  stated  also  that  he  came  gladly  because 
he  felt  that,  by  careful  inquiry  into  the  circum- 
stances, it  could  doubtless  be  proved  that  the 
soldiers  had  acted  in  a  rowdy  manner  without 
the  knowledge  and  consent  of  their  officers,  and 


DIFFICULTY    OF   AGREEMENT  13 

that  by  a  well- worded  report  the  latter  would 
escape  all  blame,  and  the  matter  could  be  set- 
tled to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  especially  as  no  lives 
had  been  lost,  or  imperial  property  destroyed. 

General  Chang  haughtily  replied  that  it  was 
entirely  unnecessary  for  Hu  to  come  out  at  all; 
that  Prince  Ching  had  sent  a  messenger  to  him 
in  the  morning,  and  the  Empress  was  doubtless 
aware,  through  this  messenger,  of  the  exact  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  already,  and  consequently 
Hu  might  as  well  return  and  save  himself  any 
further  trouble. 

His  impudent  manner  indicated  that,  having 
given  his  own  side  of  the  case  to  a  trusty  hench- 
man of  Prince  Ching's,  and  obtained  that  influ- 
ential prince's  partial  testimony  in  his  favor,  he 
did  not  care  one  way  or  the  other  for  anything 
Hu  might  report  later. 

But  Hu,  although  very  quiet  and  apparently 
humble,  was  firm  and  determined,  and  upon  the 
conclusion  of  Chang's  defiant  speech,  replied: 

^^It  is  very  well  that  Her  Majesty  should  have 
as  early  a  report  as  possible,  and  I  am  glad  you 
have  informed  her  of  the  events ;  but  as  I  have 
been  appointed  to  inquire  officially,  I  should  not 
return  without  having  done  my  duty,  and  I  hope 
that  none  of  the  officers  present  will  refuse  any 
testimony  I  require,  and  compel  me  to  report  a 
lack  of  respect  for  Her  Majesty's  commands." 


U  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Chang  bit  his  lips  and  pulled  his  mustaches 
fiercely  at  this,  but  said  nothing.  But  Colonel 
Chao  took  up  the  cudgels  in  a  most  unexpected 
manner.  Excitedly  rising,  he  commenced  a  most 
venomous  speech  against  the  introduction  of  rail- 
ways into  China.  He  denounced  them  as  the 
instrumentality  of  the  foreigner  to  subjugate  the 
country,  declaring  they  had  taken  away  the  em- 
ployment of  thousands  of  carters,  boatmen,  and 
wheelbarrow  coolies ;  that  they  had  raised  the 
price  of  rice  and  other  cereals;  that  they  em- 
ployed foreigners  at  high  wages,  who  carried  all 
the  money  out  of  the  country  at  the  same  time 
that  they  abused  and  maltreated  the  natives  under 
their  control,  and  wound  up  his  rather  long  dis- 
course by  declaring  that  the  abolishing  of  railways 
and  driving  into  the  sea  of  every  foreigner  was 
the  duty  of  every  loyal  soldier  or  subject  of  the 
empire. 

Hu  mildly  endeavored  to  interrupt  him  several 
times  by  telling  him  that  the  railways  were  all 
Chinese  property,  and  the  foreign  employees 
were  their  Empress'  own  employees ;  but  Chao 
drowned  Hu's  every  utterance  so  that  the  old 
man,  after  several  attempts,  was,  perforce,  obliged 
to  keep  quiet  until  the  irate  colonel  had  exhausted 
himself  and  sat  down  blowing  like  a  porpoise. 

I  knew  Hu  was  very  unwilling  that  I  should 
hear    all    of    this    speech,    which    he    realized    I 


PAGODA   NEAR   PEKING 

In  and  around  Peking  are  to  be  seen  many  specimens  of  noble  archi- 
tecture ;  among  which  is  this  beautiful  Pagoda,  built  hundreds  of  years 
ago.  Such  buildings  are  not  erected  now,  and  in  some  instances  they  are 
found  standing  almost  solitary  and  alone,  miles  from  any  great  city. 


i6  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Avould  perfectly  understand,  and  I  felt  sure  he 
regretted  having  brought  along  a  surgeon  versed 
in  Chinese. 

To  me  it  was  a  revelation.  I  had  heard  that 
the  Mohammedan  troops  from  Kansu,  under  the 
famous  general  Tung  Fu  Hsiang,  were  ordered 
to  Peking  immediately  after  the  coup  d^etat  to 
support  the  Empress  in  her  anti-foreign  policy. 
I  had  heard  that  they  were  fanatical,  ignorant, 
and  intensely  hostile  to  foreigners.  But  that  they 
would  dare  to  insult  the  Empress,  in  the  person 
of  a  special  commissioner  appointed  by  imperial 
edict,  and  reveal  the  purpose  of  their  general 
in  such  open  language,  and  that  before  a  for- 
eigner, I  would  scarcely  have  believed  short  of 
the  testimony  of  my  own  ears. 

Hu  reahzed  that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to 
argue  with  or  conciliate  these  men,  and  at  once 
set  about  the  object  of  his  visit,  as  yet  unachieved, 
namely,  to  find  out  the  condition  of  the  wounded 
soldiers. 

So,  upon  Colonel  Chao's  finishing  his  diatribe, 
he  poHtely  turned  to  General  Chang,  without 
further  noticing  the  enraged  colonel,  and  said: 

"I  have  been  told  two  of  your  men  have  been 
wounded  by  one  of  the  foreign  engineers,  and 
as  I  have  a  very  skilful  surgeon  in  my  employ, 
who  attends  to  all  the  people  who  are  injured  on 
the    railway,    I    have   brought    him   along   to    ex- 


ANTI- FOREIGN    FEELING  17 

amine  your  men,  and  if  you  will  permit  him  1 
am  sure  he  can  heal  them." 

He  then  introduced  me  as  Man  Tai  Fu,  my 
Chinese  title.  They  sullenly  acknowledged  my 
presence,  for  the  first  time,  by  a  slight  nod  in 
my  direction,  and  General  Chang  asked  Hu  if 
he  had  an  interpreter  who  could  converse  with 
me. 

"Oh,  he  doesn't  need  an  interpreter,"  replied 
Hu;  "he  has  lived  in  China  fifteen  years,  has  sons 
and  daughters  born  here,  and  speaks  our  lan- 
guage like  a  native." 

Upon  this,  my  nearest  neighbor,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Wang,  relaxed  a  little,  and  observed  that 
he  had  never  talked  with  a  'foreigner,  and  would 
be  glad  to  make  my  acquaintance.  I  replied  that 
it  was  a  mutual  pleasure,  and  asked  his  age,  prov- 
ince, and  personal  name,  which  pleased  him 
greatly. 

As  it  was  rapidly  growing  darker,  however, 
and  we  had  not  yet  seen  the  wounded  men,  Hu 
cut  short  our  budding  conversation  by  requesting 
General  Chang  to  show  them  to  me. 

He  curtly  declared,  "They  are  in  camp  half  a 
mile  away,  and  he  can  go  and  see  them  if  hp 
wants  to." 

"Will  you  go?"  inquired  Hu. 

"Yes,  if  you  will  go  with  me,"  I  replied,  not 
caring   to  venture    alone    into   the   hostile    camp, 

B 


1 8  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKliNG 

especially  after  what  I  had  seen  of  the  temper 
of  their  leaders;  but  I  added,  "I  think  it  would 
be  much  better  to  have  them  brought  here." 

"Yes,  yes,  that  is  better,"  said  Hu ;  but  General 
Chang  interrupted  him  by  saying: 

"Impossible!  they  are  too  ill  to  be  moved, 
and  on  this  cold  day  would  surely  take  cold  and 
die." 

"Have  them  well  wrapped  up  and  brought 
quickly,"  said  Hu,  without  paying  attention  to 
the  interruption,  "foi  it  is  getting  late,  and  al- 
though I  have  ordered  the  city  gates  not  to  close 
until  our  return  to  Peking,  I  am  anxious  to  avoid 
keeping  them  open  any  later  than  necessary." 

General  Chang  then  strode  across  the  room 
to  the  door  opening  into  the  court,  where  up- 
wards of  three  hundred  of  his  men  were  stand- 
ing packed  like  sardines,  listening  to  everything 
we  had  been  saying,  as  Chinese  custom  is,  and 
shouted  out : 

"Bring  the  two  wounded  men  in  here." 

Now  all  of  the  men  had  seen  Governor  Hu 
snubbed,  had  heard  Colonel  Chao  revile  him 
and  his  railroads,  and  had  heard  their  general 
say  the  men  would  die  if  brought  out  in  the  cold ; 
so,  supposing  they  were  to  act  in  a  similar  way, 
they,  upon  receiving  this  order,  held  a  confab, 
and  a  very  noisy  confab,  too,  among  themselves 
for  a  few  moments  before  replying. 


DANGER   APPARENT  19 

As  I  watched  Governor  Hu's  face  grow  pale 
as  the  commotion  increased,  I  felt  that  we  were 
in  real  danger  right  in  the  midst  of  the  officers, 
and  that  my  previous  view  that  I  could  insure  my 
own  safety  by  threatening  Hu's  life  would  avail 
nothing,  as  they  hated  him  as  much  if  not  more 
than  myself.  I  could  plainly  see  that  I  must 
change  my  man,  and  make  the  general  my  target 
if  the  necessity  arose. 

Then  a  voice  shouted  out  from  the  soldiers 
almost  the  exact  words  of  the  general. 

"They  cannot  be  brought  here;  the  exposure 
would  kill  them." 

Chang  looked  at  Hu  to  see  what  efifect  this  had 
upon  him,  but  Hu  was  no  coward,  and  calmly  re- 
plied : 

"  They  must  be  brought  if  it  kills  them ;  by 
Her  Majesty's  commission,  I  demand  it." 

The  general  was  bluffing;  he  sullenly  gave  in. 

"  Bring  those  men  at  once,  dead  or  alive,  you 
scoundrels,"  he  shouted  stentoriously,  "and  in  a 
hurry,  too  !" 

"Aye,  aye,"  responded  a  hundred  throats,  and 
a  number  of  men  left  the  courtyard  at  once. 

The  camp  must  have  been  some  distance  away, 
for  it  was  over  half  an  hour  and  nearly  candle- 
lighting  time  before  the  two  men,  each  carried 
on  a  litter  on  the  shoulders  of  six  men,  were 
brought  in. 


20  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

The  first  man  was  covered  up  in  blankets,  and 
pretended  to  be  unconscious;  but  he  proved  to 
have  no  fever,  had  a  slow  pulse,  and  absolutely  no 
wound  but  a  scratch  at  the  lower  end  of  his  right 
shoulder-blade,  which  might  have  been  made  by 
a  finger-nail,  or  possibly  by  a  pistol-ball  grazing 
the  skin. 

The  hypocrite  Chang  bent  over  me  as  I  was 
examining,  and  asked  in  a  voice  of  pretended 
sympathy : 

"Is  he  badly  hurt?  Can  he  recover?  And 
how  long  will  he  be  ill?"  to  which  I  replied: 

"Not  badly  hurt;  Jie  will  recover;  and  I  will 
guarantee  he  is  all  right  day  after  to-morrow  if 
you  will  send  him  at  once  to  my  railroad  hospital 
at  Fengtai." 

I  said  this,  thinking  that  the  British  minister 
in  Peking,  Sir  Claude  MacDonald,  might  be  glad 
to  get  hold  of  these  men  for  proper  punishment, 
and  that  if  they  were  in  the  hospital  at  Fengtai 
they  could  easily  be  obtained  ;  otherwise  I  would 
have  ordered  this  man  to  be  dismissed  at  once 
as  shamming. 

The  second  man  also  pretended  to  be  much 
worse  oflf  than  he  really  was,  but  he  did  in  fact 
have  a  small  bullet-wound  in  his  shoulder,  from 
which  I  extracted  with  forceps  a  fragment  of 
blue  cotton  cloth,  and  then  sent  him  also  to  the 
hospital,  predicting  his  recovery  within  ten  days. 


REPORT    TO    THE    EMPRESS  21 

General  Chang  thanked  me  for  my  interest, 
and  promised  to  reward  me  for  my  services  when 
the  men  recovered;  then,  nodding  coolly  to  Gov- 
ernor Hu,  he  and  his  stafif  marched  out  of  the 
inn  and  left  us,  and  allowed  a  subordinate  to 
escort  us  to  the  special  train  that  brought  us 
down,  which  was  as  great  a  lack  of  courtesy  and 
positive  insult  as  he  could  give  to  the  Empress 
Dowager's  high  commissioner. 

Our  return  journey  was  without  incident.  The 
city  gates  were  open  awaiting  us,  and  were  closed 
immediately  upon  our  entrance.  Governor  Hu 
immediately  memorialized  the  throne,  stating  the 
result  of  his  inquiries,  reported  the  impudence 
of  Colonel  Chao,  and  made  the  request  that 
he  be  turned  over  to  the  Board  of  Punishments 
for  a  penalty. 

The  Empress  acknowledged  the  memorial,  and 
she  decided  to  deprive  Colonel  Chao  of  one  step 
in  rank,  degrading  him  to  a  major.  This  ap- 
peared in  an  edict  at  once ;  at  the  same  time  she 
commended  Hu  for  his  promptness  and  general 
ability. 

But,  alas  for  Governor  Hu !  General  Tung 
Fu  Hsiang,  the  man  who  was  to  prove  the  curse 
of  China,  was  unacquainted  with  all  these  cir- 
cumstances, and  had  yet  to  be  heard  from.  This 
man  had  obtained  his  reputation  first  as  a  brigand, 
and  afterward  as  a  leader  of  Her  Majesty's  army 


22 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


in  putting  down  a  rather  formidable  rebellion 
of  the  Mohammedans  in  his  own  province  of 
Kansu.  Bold,  cruel,  and  unscrupulous,  he  had 
murdered    his    own   provincials,    who    were    but 


A  temple  in  the  Summer  Palace  grounds 

poorly  armed  and  without  military  discipline,  in 
a  most  ruthless  manner,  and  had  not  only  sup- 
pressed the  uprising,  but  nearly  exterminated  the 
rebels. 

His  fame  spread  far  and  wide  as  a  wonderful 
general,  so  that  when  the  Empress  again  assumed 
power   by  forcibly  seizing   the    throne    from   the 


ANGER    OF    TUNG    FU 


23 


weak  but  good-intentioned  Kuang  Hsu,  she  de- 
cided at  once  to  bring  this  man  Tung  and  his 
Kansu  ruffians  to  Peking  to  assist  her  in  main- 
taining her  authority  against  all  comers.     It  was 


MEMORIAL    ARCHES 

It  is  doubtful  if  we  should  have  been  able  to  learn  so  much  of 
the  "Forbidden  City"  and  of  the  beautiful  and  remarkable  things 
to  be  seen  in  the  Palace  grounds  had  it  not  been  for  this  Siege. 
These  are  most  beautiful  from  a  Chinese  point  of  view,  the  archi- 
tecture dating  back  for  many  ages.  These  arches  are  built  of 
immense  blocks  of  stone,  beautifully  fitted  and  arranged. 

en  route  to  Peking  that  his  advance  corps,  under 
General  Chang,  had  the  trouble  at  Lukouch'iao. 
As  soon  as  Tung  Fu  Hsiang  learned  of  Colo- 
nel Chao's    degradation,  he  was   wild  with  rage. 


24  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

taking  the  view  at  once  that  the  insult  was  not 
only  upon  Chao  but  also  upon  himself. 

Knowing  the  Empress  was  in  a  precarious 
condition  without  troops  she  could  depend  upon, 
this  courageous  adventurer,  at  his  first  audience 
upon  his  arrival  in  Peking,  promptly  told  Her 
Majesty  that  unless  Chao  were  restored  to  his 
rank  immediately,  and  Governor  Hu  were  re- 
moved from  his  offices  as  Governor  of  Peking 
and  Director -General  of  Railways,  as  well  as 
prevented  from  taking  his  seat  in  the  tsung-li- 
yaAien,  or  foreign  office,  to  which  he  had  just 
been  appointed,  he,  Tung,  would  disband  his 
army  and  return  to  Kansu  at  once. 

The  Empress  remonstrated  with  him  in  vain, 
alleging  that  Hu  had  only  done  his  duty,  and 
that  with  his  knowledge  of  foreigners  he  would 
be  a  valuable  official  in  the  tsung-li-yamen.  But 
Tung  remained  obdurate,  and  the  Empress  re- 
luctantly yielded  aad  dismissed  Hu  to  private 
life,  where  he  has  ever  since  remained. 

As  Governor  Hu  was  alone  responsible,  by  his 
firm  friendship  for  the  English,  for  obtaining  for 
the  Hong  Kong  and  Shanghai  banking  corpora- 
tion, an  English  company,  the  loan  for  extending 
the  Peking-Tientsin  railway,  and  had  signed  the 
contract  which  gave  the  real  control  of  the  rail- 
way to  the  English  stockholders,  his  dismissal 
from  office  should  have  been  prevented  by  diplo- 


GOVERNOR    HU    DISPLACED  25 

matic  action.  As  it  was,  only  a  mild  remonstrance 
by  the  diplomatic  representative  of  Great  Britain 
was  made,  and  the  tsung-li-yamen  passed  it,  as 
usual,  unheeded.  Governor  Hu  remarked  to  me 
a  few  days  after  his  dismissal,  very  bitterly,  "If 
I  had  been  the  friend  to  Russia  I  have  been  to 
England  I  should  not  now  be  in  disgrace." 

He  was  replaced  in  the  office  of  Governor  of 
Peking  by  Ho  Yun  Nai,  and  in  the  office  of  Di- 
rector-General of  Railways  by  Hsu  Ching  Ch'eng, 
ex-minister  to  Germany  and  Russia.  The  first 
of  these  officials  was  a  well-known  hater  of  for- 
eigners, who  was  suggested  by  General  Tung. 
The  latter  was  a  corrupt  opium-eater,  already  in 
the  pay  of  Russia,  as  Chinese  president  of  the 
Manchurian  railway,  and  was  suggested  by  a  high 
palace  eunuch,  himself  in  the  pay  of  Russia. 

Tung's  influence  in  Peking  now  became  all- 
powerful  ;  his  soldiers  swaggered  about  the 
streets  in  their  fancy  red  and  black  uniforms, 
growing  daily  more  menacing  to  the  foreigners 
they  passed,  until  finally  several  incipient  riots 
occurred  which  resulted  in  one  foreigner  having 
several  ribs  broken  and  others  being  assaulted, 
so  that  a  few  of  the  foreign  ministers  united 
and  requested  that  his  army  corps  be  removed 
some  distance  from  the  capital.  The  Empress 
agreed  reluctantly  to  this,  but  only  sent  them  a 
little   over   a   hundred   li   away. 


26  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Tung,  early  after  his  arrival,  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Prince  Tuan,  a  stupid,  ignorant 
Manchu,  who  soon  became  his  complete  tool. 
The  question  of  a  successor  to  the  sickly  Empe- 
ror, Kuang  Hsu,  had  been  discussed  for  several 
years,  as  he  had  as  yet  no  issue,  and  seemed 
likely  at  any  time  to  die  childless.  The  sons  of 
Tuan,  of  Duke  Lan,  and  of  Prince  Lien  were 
all  considered  eligible,  and  from  amongst  them 
must  be  chosen  the  future  Emperor  of  China. 

Tung  saw  that  Tuan  would  become  his  tool 
much  more  completely  than  either  of  the  others, 
and  proposed  an  alliance  between  Tuan's  son 
and  a  daughter  of  his  own,  agreeing  to  support 
the  younger  Tuan's  candidacy  for  the  throne, 
with  his  whole  army,  if  necessary,  to  accomplish 
the  purpose.  Tuan  agreed  to  this,  but  stated 
the  succession  must  be  made  without  its  being 
known  that  he  was  under  obligations  to  favor 
Tung's  daughter,  but  that  when  an  apparently 
open  competition  for  selection  of  an  empress 
was  made,  and  the  various  eligible  damsels 
appeared  at  the  court,  Tung's  daughter  should 
arrive  from  Kansu  in  time  and  be  the  favored 
recipient. 

On  this  understanding  everything  became 
smooth  sailing,  and  the  consummation  of  their 
plans,  as  far  as  Tuan's  interest  was  concerned, 
occurred,  when    in    solemn   conclave   of    all   the 


BARGAIN    WITH    TUAN 


27 


princes  of  the  blood  and  great  ministers  of 
state,  on  January  24,  1900,  Pu  Chun,  son  of 
Prince  Tuan,  was  solemnly  named  as  successor 
to   the  previous  emperor,  Tung  Chih ;   and   poor 


CHINESE    STATESMEN 

A  group  of  Chinese  officials  of  the  highest  class ;    in  Peking, 
previous  to  the  Siege. 

sickly  little  Kuang  Hsu  was  succeeded  without 
a  successor  to  himself,  but  a  successor  to  his 
uncle  being  appointed,  which,  by  imperial  edict, 
makes  him  an  interloper. 


28  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

This  was  a  nice  piece  of  vengeance  the  Em- 
press Dowager  worked  out,  partly  to  avenge 
herself  on  her  nephew  for  his  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt to  shelve  her  and  run  his  government 
himself.  Tung's  intensely  anti-foreign  senti- 
ments soon  made  him  many  friends  at  court, 
among  the  oldest  and  most  conservative  Man- 
chus,  as  well  as  some  of  the  Chinese.  But  it 
was  among  the  former  that  his  influence  was 
greatest. 

Many  of  these  men,  stupid  in  the  extreme, 
and  too  cowardly  themselves  ever  to  have  orig- 
inated any  of  the  designs  that  have  since  been 
worked  out,  joyfully  fell  in  with  the  plans  in- 
spired by  his  ambition  for  his  own  success,  but 
always  put  forward  as  for  the  salvation  of  his 
country. 

Hsu  Ting,  Kang  Yi,  Ch'i  Shin,  Ch'ung  Ch'i, 
Ch'ung  Li,  Na  T'ung,  and  Li  Ping  Heng  be- 
came his  warmest  friends  and  admirers,  and 
formed  a  cabal  which  soon  controlled  the  entire 
administration  of  government.  By  Tung's  direc- 
tion all  important  offices,  as  they  became  vacant, 
or  could  be  readily  made  so,  were  to  be  filled 
by  the  Manchu  friends  of  the  cabal  or,  if  Chi- 
nese, as  rarely  occurred,  then  a  Chinese  who 
was  of  their  own  set  and  their  own  creature. 
This  gave  them  a  powerful  patronage  under 
their    disposal    in    the    lucrative    taotaiships    and 


MANCHUS    IN    POWER 


29 


other  posts  formerly  more  or  less  evenly  divided 
between  Manchu  and  Chinese,  but  now  almost 
entirely  limited  to  Manchus. 

Kang    Yi    was    sent    on    a    mission    southward 
through    all    the    provinces    to    extort   money   to 


BRIDGE  AT  WAN  SHOA  SHAN,  NEAR  PEKING 

That  the  Chinese  appreciate  the  picturesque,   both   in  situation 
and  in  architecture,  is  shown  in  this  picture. 

raise  more  armies,  as  well  as  to  feel  the  pulse 
of  the  people  in  regard  to,  and  encourage  them 
in,  their  anti-foreign  tendencies.  Li  Ping  Heng 
was  sent  to  examine  and  report  on  all  the  de- 
fenses of  the  Yangtze  valley,  as  well  as  to 
denounce  any  official  of  progressive  tendencies. 
Yu  Hsien  was  to  succeed  the  latter  as  Governor 
of  Shantung,  and  to  sow  in  that  province  the 
seeds  of  disorder  and  riot  that  yielded  such  a 
bitter  crop  when  they  ripened ;  just  as  only 
a    poorly- organized,    semi  -  patriotic,     but     fully 


30  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

looting  society  could  do  —  an  organization  that 
was  to  be  called  the  I  Ho  Ch'uan  or  Boxer 
organization. 

This  programme  has  been  fully  carried  out, 
and  what  the  result  has  been  will  be  described 
in  part  only  (as  we  in  the  north  only  know 
part)   in  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER   II 


YU  HSIEN  APPOINTED  GOVERNOR  OF  SHANTUNG,  REMOVED 
BY  BRITISH  DEMANDS,  ONLY  TO  BE  REWARDED— TUAN- 
SHIH  KAI  SUCCEEDS  HIM  — CAUSES  OF  HATRED  OF  CON- 
VERTS BT  PEOPLE  AND  BOXERS— THE  BOXERS  AND 
THEIR   TENETS— THE    EMPRESS   CONSULTS  ASTROLOGERS 


W- 


ITH  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Man- 
chu  Yu  Hsien  as 
Governor  of  Shantung 
province,  to  be  the  suc- 
cessor to  the  anti-foreign 
Li  Ping  Heng,  whose 
removal  the  Germans 
had  succeeded  in  effect- 
ing, commenced  the 
governmental  recogni- 
tion of  the  Boxers'  so- 
ciety as  an  agent  to 
expel  missionaries,  merchants,  and  diplomats 
alike.  This  man,  whose  hatred  of  foreigners 
exceeded  that  of  his  predecessor,  was  no  sooner 
in  office  than  he  caused  the  literati  all  over  the 
province  to  revive  among  the  masses  the  "Great 
Sword"  and  "Boxer"  organizations,  which  had 
been  a  bit  shaken  by  the  removal  of  their  en- 
courager,  Li  Ping  Heng. 

(3O 


HSU    CHING    CHENG 
Ex-minister  to  Germany,  mem- 
ber of  Tsung-li-yamen.    Beheaded 
Aug.  9,  for  favoring  peace. 


32  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

The  foreign  residents  of  Shantung,  who  had 
hoped  the  new  government  would  be  an  im- 
provement over  the  old,  soon  found  they  were 
worse  off  than  before.  The  native  Christians 
were  persecuted  most  bitterly  by  their  heathen 
neighbors,  and  their  complaints  at  the  yamens 
treated  with  disdain. 

Yu  Hsien  did  his  work  thoroughly  and  rapidly, 
knowing  the  foreign  power  which  had  compelled 
the  removal  of  Li  Ping  Heng  would  also  cause 
his  removal.  But  as  he  was  only  placed  in  Shan- 
tung for  the  deliberate  purpose  of  making  trou- 
ble, his  removal  would  mean  for  him  a  better 
post  as  the  reward  of  his  success. 

This  came  when  the  "  Boxers "  of  Chianfu 
prefecture  attacked  and  murdered  a  young  mis- 
sionary of  the  Church  of  England  named  Brookes, 
who  was  traveling  from  Chianfu  city  to  his  station 
of  P'ingyin. 

The  British  government  demanded  his  re- 
moval from  office,  and  the  Chinese  government 
acquiesced;  but  their  treatment  of  him  upon  his 
arrival  in  Peking  alone  would  have  sufficed  for 
an  intelligent  observer  to  make  clear  the  policy 
of  the  Empress  without  any  other  confirmatory 
evidence,  abundance  of  which,  however,  was  not 
lacking. 

Instead  of  being  reprimanded,  we  find  him 
granted   immediate   audience  with   the   Empress, 


YU    SENT    TO    SHANSI  33 

and  the  next  day's  Court  Gazette  informed  an 
astonished  world  that  the  Empress  had  written 
with  her  own  brush  the  character  "Fu,"  happi- 
ness, and  conferred  it  upon  him  publicly.  Then 
followed  his  appointment  as  Governor  of  Shansi, 
a  rich  mineral  province  in  which  the  "Peking 
Syndicate,"  an  Anglo-Italian  company  promoted 
by  Lord  Rothschild,  held  valuable  concessions. 
In  this  province,  too,  were  the  long -worked 
missionary  establishments  of  the  American  Board 
(Congregationalist)  and  the  China  Inland  Mis- 
sions. 

The  Chinese  all  understood  this  as  an  appre- 
ciative approval  from  the  Empress,  and  so,  too, 
did  all  the  older  foreign  residents  ;  but  the  diplo- 
matic corps,  beyond  a  feeble  remonstrance  from 
the  British  and  United  States  ministers,  did  noth- 
ing. So,  to-day  Yu  Hsien  is  pursuing  in  Shansi 
the  same  policy  he  did  in  Shantung,  the  results 
of  which  must  turn  out  similarly. 

The  Empress  appointed  as  successor  to  Yu 
Hsien  the  man  who  had  turned  traitor  to  the 
unfortunate  young  Emperor,  Kuang  Hsu,  Yuan- 
shih  Kai.  This  man  is  well  known  to  foreign- 
ers. He  was  formerly  Chinese  resident  at  Seoul, 
and  it  was  largely  due  to  him  that  the  China- 
Japan  war  occurred.  After  the  war  he  was  made 
commanding-general  of  a  force  of  foreign-drilled 
troops  stationed  at  Hsiao  Chan,  south  of  Tientsin, 
c 


34  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Yuan  is  one  of  the  shrewdest  and  most  un- 
scrupulous men  of  China,  and  the  Empress,  in 
rewarding  him  by  this  appointment  for  his  ser- 
vice to  her  in  making  known  the  Emperor's  pur- 
pose to  send  her  into  captivity,  gave  power  to  a 
man  who  would  desert  her,  when  it  suited  him, 
as  quickly  as  he  had  the  weak,  but  well-meaning, 
Emperor. 

Yuan,  upon  his  arrival  in  Shantung,  found 
himself  in  a  difficult  position.  If  he  encouraged 
the  Boxers  he  would  make  enemies  of  the  for- 
eigners. If  he  was  severe  with  the  Boxers  he 
would  be  removed  by  the  Empress,  influenced 
as  she  was  by  General  Tung  Fu  Hsiang  and 
his   cabal. 

Being  a  man  of  great  wealth  and  having  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  situation,  he  steered  a 
course  that  would  obviate  his  striking  on  either 
rock.  He  subscribed  to  the  Boxer  organiza- 
tions where  they  obeyed  him,  and  punished 
them  where  they  were  refractory,  and  soon  had 
Shantung,  which  was  in  a  ferment  when  he  took 
charge,  fairly  well  in  hand. 

He  gave  it  to  be  understood  that  they  would, 
in  time,  be  able  to  exterminate  foreigners ;  but 
they  must  patiently  drill  and  practice  gymnastics 
until  such  time  as  he  considered  that  they  had 
reached  perfection,  and  must  not  on  any  account 
injure   a   foreigner   too   early,  as   it  would   bring 


ENCOURAGEMENT    TO    BOXERS  35 

down  trouble  before  the  government  was  pre- 
pared to  meet  it.  At  the  same  time  he  allowed 
them  to  pillage  and  murder  the  native  Chris- 
tians freely,  well  knowing  this  would  please  the 
Court,  and  would  not  be  actively  taken  up  by 
the  foreign  powers  as  an  infringement  of  treaty- 
rights,  which  it  certainly  was. 

Evidently  his  idea  was,  too,  that  Tung  Fu 
Hsiang's  plan  to  drive  out  and  exterminate  all 
foreigners  was  an  entirely  impossible  one,  and 
that  if  he  could  keep  his  province  from  com- 
mitting any  overt  act  that  would  lead  to  a  foreign 
war,  for  a  year's  time,  the  Chihli  authorities,  all 
the  Manchus,  and  Tung  Fu  Hsiang  himself 
would  have  brought  on  the  war  and  ruined 
themselves,  while  he.  Yuan,  would  then  have  a 
chance  to  cut  loose  from  the  conservatives,  and 
come  to  the  front  in  the  new  regime,  which 
must  come,  as  a  reformer.  That  he  will  do  this 
I  fearlessly  prophesy. 

The  Boxer  organization  was  not  started  by 
Tung  Fu  Hsiang,  but  was,  by  his  advice,  given 
imperial  sanction  and  infused  with  new  life  and 
activity.  A  similar  organization,  known  in  olden 
times  in  China  under  the  same  name,  was  a 
volunteer  militia  for  national  defense.  The  re- 
cent revival  has  not  only  been  for  defense,  but 
to  exterminate  the  Christian  religion  and  the 
people  who  brought  it. 


36 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


A    MONGOLIAN    LLAMA 
Great  learning  is  possessed,  according  to  the  Chinese  standard, 
by  these    priests.     The   young  student  or  candidate  on  the  left  is 
receiving  instruction. 

That  the  Chinese  people  have  much  to  com- 
plain of  from  the  aggressive  attitude  of  many 
native  Christians,  and  particularly  the  Roman 
Catholic  Christians,  no  sane  man  will  deny.  For 
years  it  has  been  the  practice  of  the  priests  and 
of  many  of  the  Protestant  missionaries  to  assist 
their   converts    in    lawsuits    against   the    heathens, 


CAUSE    OF    DISLIKE    OF    CONVERTS  37 

and  to  exert  an  unjust  influence  in  their  behalf. 
To  "get  even"  with  an  enemy  it  is  only  neces- 
sary for  a  convert  to  tell  his  priest  or  pastor 
that  he  has  been  persecuted  in  some  way  for 
his  religious  belief,  to  induce  the  missionary  to 
take  up  the  cudgel  in  his  defense.  I  have 
heard  heathen  Chinese  often  assert  that  these 
men  (converts)  appear  good  enough  to  their 
priests,  who  see  very  little  of  their  ordinary  be- 
havior, but  behind  the  father's  back  they  are 
overbearing  and  malicious  to  all  their  neighbors, 
who  hate  them  because  they  fear  them. 

After  years  of  residence  in  China,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  has  been  a  mis- 
take of  the  Powers  to  insert  in  their  treaties 
provisions  making  the  preaching  of  Christianity 
a  treaty-right,  in  spite  of  Chinese  objection. 
Nearly  all  of  the  riots  in  China  have  come  from 
attempts  to  force  the  Chinese  officials  to  stamp 
deeds  conveying  property  to  missionaries  for 
residences  or  chapels.  The  animosity  incurred  in 
forcing  a  missionary  establishment  upon  an  in- 
terior city,  town,  or  village  is  not  obliterated  in 
a  lifetime.  It  may  be  barely  tolerated  in  time  of 
peace,  only  to  be  demolished  when  the  country 
is  disturbed.  This  applies  to  the  China  that  has 
been  —  barbarian,  uncivilized  China. 

Should  the  reformers  come  into  power,  and 
religious   toleration   be   granted   as   the    result   of 


38  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

civilization,  then  there  would  be  no  reason  why 
the  missionaries  should  not  work  in  the  more 
remote  parts  of  the  empire;  but  China,  as  it  has 
been  and  is,  would  be  much  more  peaceful  for 
all  concerned  if  the  proselyting  work  was  car- 
ried on  only  in  the  treaty  ports.  I  don't  expect 
any  of  the  missionary  body  to  agree  to  this  state- 
ment, but  doubtless  many  of  their  supporters, 
thinking  people,  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
reason  it  out,  will  believe  it,  supported  as  it  is 
by  the  testimony  of  all  the  residents  of  China 
acquainted  with  the  problem.  There  are  many 
reasons  for  the  Chinaman's  hatred  of  the  for- 
eigners, but  his  religion  is  the  chief  one. 

In  the  late  riots  the  railways  have  been  at- 
tacked and  destroyed,  but  that  came  only  after 
a  half-year's  successful  campaign  against  the  con- 
verts had  led  them  to  want  to  root  out  the  people 
who  brought  both  the  religion  and  the  railways. 
While  I  am  a  Christian  myself,  and  would  gladly 
see  China  a  Christian  nation,  I  cannot  help  see- 
ing that  the  policy  which  has  been  pursued  in 
forcing  Christianity  upon  the  Chinese,  in  the  ag- 
gressive manner  we  have,  practically  at  the  point 
of  the  sword,  has  not  been  a  success,  and  has 
given  to  such  men  as  Tung  Fu  Hsiang  a  power- 
ful argument  with  which  to  persuade  his  igno- 
rant followers  to  exterminate  alike  the  foreigner 
and  his  converts. 


BOXERS    AND    THEIR    TENETS 


39 


INDIVIDUAL    EXAMINATION    ROOMS  FOR    CIVIL    SERVICE    DEGREES 

A  remarkable  feature  of  Chinese  social  and  political  customs 
is  the  method  of  selection  for  public  office.  The  candidates  for 
examination  are  installed  in  the  little  rooms  or  houses  shown  in 
this  picture;  a  supply  of  water  is  placed  in  the  large  jars  at  the 
entrance,  and  the  candidate  is  expected,  regardless  of  the  pangs  of 
hunger,  to  remain  constantly  in  this  little  room  until  he  shall  have 
passed  this  examination,  which   sometimes  lasts  two  or  three  days. 

The  Boxers  are  principally  of  two  sorts  :  the 
ignorant  villager  and  the  city  loafer  or  vagabond. 
The  first  easily  becomes  a  fanatical  enthusiast ; 
the  latter  has  joined  simply  to  obtain  loot.  When 


40  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

it  became  an  assured  fact  that  the  Empress 
sanctioned  the  movement  the  ranks  were  rapidly 
filled,  because  rewards  and  preferment  were  held 
out  as  inducements  to  serve,  and  the  majority  of 
China's  population,  being  poverty-stricken  in  the 
extreme,  would  join  any  movement  that  promised 
an  increased  income.  The  Boxer  headquarters 
was  the  palace  of  Prince  Tuan  in  Peking.  From 
this  place  emissaries  were  sent  with  instructions; 
first  into  Shantung  and  afterward  throughout 
Chihli,  to  cooperate  with  the  already-existing  se- 
cret societies,  as  well  as  to  organize  new  com- 
panies. Every  city,  town,  and  village  was  visited, 
the  head  men  consulted,  and  the  young  men  and 
boys  enrolled. 

Their  gymnastic  exercises,  from  which  they 
derive  their  name,  were  taught  them,  and  they 
were  promised  that  when  they  had  attained  per- 
fection they  would  be  given  service  under  the 
Empress  with  good  pay  and  rapid  promotion. 
They  were  told  that  if  they  would  go  regularly 
through  the  ceremonies  prescribed  every  day, 
in  from  three  to  six  months  they  would  acquire 
indomitable  courage,  and  would  be  invulner- 
able to  bullets  and  sword-cuts,  and  that  the 
youngest  child  would  be  a  match  for  a  grown 
man  of  the  uninitiated.  That  thousands  believed 
this  nonsense  there  is  no  doubt;  and  thousands 
of    little    boys    from    ten   years    of    age    upward 


PREMATURE    UPRISING  41 

eagerly  enrolled.  The  exercise  consisted  of  bow- 
ing low  to  the  ground,  striking  the  forehead 
into  the  earth  three  times  each  toward  the  east, 
then  south,  then  throwing  themselves  upon  their 
backs  and  lying  motionless  for  several  minutes, 
after  which  they  would  throw  themselves  from 
side  to  side  a  number  of  times,  and,  finally 
rising,  go  through  a  number  of  posturings,  as 
though  warding  off  blows  and  making  passes  at 
an  enemy.  As  a  uniform  they  were  given  a  red 
turban,  a  red  sash  to  cross  the  chest,  and  red 
"tae  tzio,"  or  wide  tape,  to  tie  in  the  trousers 
at  the  ankle. 

The  time  set  for  their  uprising  was  fixed  for 
the  Chinese  eighth  moon,  seventeenth  day,  be- 
ing two  days  after  the  annual  "harvest  festival," 
or  pa  yueh  chieh.  The  premature  explosion  of 
the  movement  was  not  anticipated  by  those  who 
originated  it,  but  it  is  largely  due  to  its  going 
oflf  at  half-cock,  so  to  speak,  that  enabled  the 
Powers  to  combat  it  so  readily  after  they  were 
aware  of  its  existence  as  a  real  government 
agency. 

Doubtless  the  government  intended  before  that 
time  to  give  arms  and  ammunition  to  all  grown 
men;  but,  in  the  first  place,  they  were  to  arm 
themselves  with  swords  and  spears  only.  They 
were  told,  among  other  things,  that  at  the  time 
of  their  uprising  myriads  of  regiments  of  angelic 


42  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

soldiers   would    descend    from   the    skies  to   assist 
them  in  their  righteous  war  against  foreigners. 

The  Empress  herself  believed  this  story  as  well 
as  the  possibility  of  their  being  invulnerable  to 
foreign  bullets.  She  is  exceedingly  superstitious, 
and  in  the  early  part  of  May  consulted  the  Chi- 
nese planchette  to  read  her  destiny.  Two  blind 
men,  holding  the  instrument  under  a  silk  screen, 
wrote  in  the  prepared  sand  underneath  the  fol- 
lowing message  from  the  spiritual  world : 

"Ta  Chieh  Lin  T'ou 
Hung  Hsieh  Hung  Liu 
Pai  Ku  Ch'ung  Ch'ung 
Chin  Tsai  Chin  Ch'in 
Tan  Kan 

T'ieh  Ma  Tung  Hsi  Tscu 
Shui  Shih  Shui  Fei 
Ts'ai  pai  shiu." 

The  interpretation  of  this  would  read  in  English : 

"The  millennium  is  at  hand; 
Blood  will  flow  like  a  deluge; 
Bleaching  bones  everywhere 
Will  this  autumn  time  be  seen. 
Moreover,  the  iron  horse 
Will  move  from  east  to  west; 
Who's  right  and  who's  wrong 
Will  then  be  clearly  established." 

The  millennium  is  used  by  the  Chinese  as  a 
critical   period   in   a   cycle    of   years.      The   iron 


LOOTING    FOREIGNERS 


43 


horse  is  supposed  to  mean  war.  The  Empress 
understood  this  to  mean  that  in  the  war  which 
she  intended  to  commence  it  would  be  clearly 
shown  by  her  success  that  she  was  right. 


A   GROUP   OF   PROMINENT   CHINESE   OFFICIALS 
These  men  are  connected  with  the  Tsung-li-yamen. 

The  Boxers,  however,  completely  spoiled  all 
her  plans  by  their  eagerness  to  obtain  loot. 
Being  promised  the  spoil  of  the  foreigners  after 
the   contemplated   uprising   in    the   eighth  moon, 


44  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

they  regarded  the  property  of  the  Christians 
and  their  teachers  as  already  mortgaged  to 
them;  and,  fearful  lest  the  government  troops 
would  acquire  some  of  it,  they  commenced  the 
campaign  themselves  before  the  appointed  time. 
How  the  government  at  first  made  feeble  efforts 
to  restrain  them,  and  afterward  completely  gave 
in  and  joined  with  them  is  now  a  matter  of 
history. 

The  monumental  idiocy  of  the  idea  that 
China  could  successfully  defy  the  whole  civil- 
ized world  was  only  possible  to  such  brains  as 
those  possessed  by  the  densely  ignorant  Man- 
chus  who  surrounded  the  Empress  as  her  cabi- 
net. Several  of  the  tsung-li-yamen  ministers, 
like  Prince  Ch'ing  and  Liao  Shou  Heng, 
weakly  tried  to  reason  them  out  of  it,  and 
were   promptly   given   back   seats. 

Of  the  others  remaining  in  the  tsung-li-yamen 
after  their  retirement,  none  dared  say  anything 
against  the  movement  for  fear  they  also  would 
be  shelved.  But  as  they  were  not  strong  enough 
to  please  the  Empress  in  her  final  dealings  with 
the  foreigners,  she,  a  few  days  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  siege,  appointed  Prince  Tuan 
as  head  of  the  yamen,  in  place  of  Prince  Ch'ing, 
and  at  the  same  time  appointed  two  fire-eating 
foreign-haters,  Chi  Shui  and  Na  T'ung,  to  seats 
in  that  obstructive  body.   These  men,  with  Tung 


RESPONSIBILITY   FOR    DEATHS  45 

Fu  Hsiang  and  the  cabinet,  must  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  murders  of  Baron  von  Ketteler, 
F.  Huberty  James,  David  Oliphant,  H.  Warren, 
Ed  Wagner,  and  the  other  civilians  and  guards 
killed  during  the  siege,  as  well  as  for  many  mis- 
sionaries in  the  province  that  have  doubtless  per- 
ished, but  of  whose  fate  we,  being  besieged,  had 
no  certain  knowledge. 

That  the  Powers,  in  the  settlement  of  their 
crimes,  will  treat  them  as  murderers,  as  they  are, 
we  can  scarcely  doubt,  and  we  hope  none  of 
them  in  any  way  implicated  will  be  allowed  to 
escape  capital  punishment. 


CHAPTER    III 


CABLES  TO  AMERICA  DESCRIBING  GROWTH  OF  BOXER  MOVE- 
MENT FROM  JANUARY  TO  JUNE,  igoo 


T 


CHUNG    LI 
Manchu  Boxer  Chief 


HE  murder  of  the 
Church  of  England 
missionary,  Brookes, 
in  Chinanfu  prefecture, 
Shantung  province,  by 
the  Boxers,  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  explosion. 
On  January  4,  1900,  I 
cabled  home  the  occur- 
rence of  the  murder. 
On  January  5  I  cabled 
that  the  Americans  in  Taianfu,  two  days'  jour- 
ney by  cart  south  of  the  scene  of  the  murder, 
were  in  danger,  and  that  the  United  States 
minister  had  requested  that  they  be  protected; 
also  that  the  Empress  Dowager  had  expressed 
to  Sir  Claude  MacDonald,  through  the  tsung- 
li-yamen,  her  horror  at  the  deed,  and  from 
thenceforth,  under  the  respective  dates  given 
below,  I  sent  cables  recording  the  Boxer  prog- 
ress. 

January  13.    Christians  in  Shantung  are  being 
constantly  pillaged  by  marauding  parties  of  Box- 

(46) 


DISPATCHES    HOME  "  47 

ers.  The  Taianfu  district  is  especially  dangerous, 
as  the  prefect  will  not  allow  them  to  be  interfered 
with.  Dr.  Smith,  of  Pang  Chuang,  in  northern 
Shantung,  has  also  written  and  telegraphed  the 
United  States  legation  that  matters  in  his  district 
are  in  the  same  condition.  Christians  murdered, 
chapels  burned  and  looted,  and  no  redress  obtain- 
able from  the  officials. 

January  15.  An  imperial  edict  was  issued  yes- 
terday which  really  commends  the  Boxers,  and  is 
sure  to  cause  trouble.  Upon  Baron  von  Ketteler 
representing  this  to  the  tsung-li-yamen  he  was 
given  no  satisfactory  answer  to  account  for  it. 

January  24.  Boxer  movement  is  rapidly  spread- 
ing, and  the  situation  fills  many  with  alarm.  Prince 
Tuan's  son  has  been  chosen  as  the  successor  to 
the  Emperor,  which  is  an  unfavorable  omen. 

January  25.  An  edict  has  been  promulgated 
apparently  from  the  Emperor,  but  really  from  the 
Empress  Dowager,  stating  that,  because  of  his 
childless  condition  and  infirm  health,  he  has  de- 
cided for  the  good  of  the  state  to  appoint  Pu 
Chun,  son  of  Prince  Tuan,  as  his  successor. 

February  5.  Although  the  Boxer  movement 
continues  to  increase  in  the  northern  provinces, 
Peking  remains  quiet. 

February  10.  The  anti  -  foreign  crusade  is 
proceeding  apace.  Jung  Lu,  Hsu  Tung  and 
Kang  Yi  have  assumed  great  power,  and  are  con- 


48  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

stantly  with  the  Empress.  The  Boer  successes  in 
the  Transvaal  are  being  used  to  show  the  masses 
that  a  very  little  country  can  defy  a  big  govern- 
ment if  only  the  hearts  of  the  people  are  in  the 
struggle.  British  prestige  here  declining  rapidly 
as  a  consequence.  A  Boxer  mob  has  attacked  the 
Germans  building  the  railway  in  Shantung,  and 
driven  the  foreigners  away  from  their  work.  As 
Baron  von  Ketteler  insists  upon  their  going 'on 
with  the  work,  the  tsung-li-yamen  finds  it  diffi- 
cult to  please  both  the  throne  and  the  foreigners. 

February  12.  A  letter  received  from  a  Presby- 
terian missionary  in  Chinanfu  states  that  over  sev- 
enty families  of  Christians  have  been  mobbed  and 
looted  in  his  district,  and  that  they  can  obtain 
no  redress  from  the  local  officials,  and  that  the 
Boxers,  knowing  this,  are  rapidly  increasing  and 
growing  bolder. 

February  15.  Imperial  edict  orders  the  sus- 
pension of  any  native  papers  showing  reform  ten- 
dency, and  the  editors  to  be  imprisoned. 

February  19.  The  annual  audience  with  the 
foreign  ministers  took  place  with  most  scant  cere- 
mony and  in  a  shabby  apartment.  This  was  done 
with  the  direct  purpose  of  insulting  them,  but 
none  remonstrated. 

February  23.  A  French  priest  from  Tientsin 
informs  me  that  all  that  district  is  pervaded  by 
the  Boxers,  who  openly  avow  they  are  drilling  to 


BOLDNESS    OF   BOXERS  49 

come  to  Peking  and  drive  out  and  exterminate 
all  foreigners, 

February  25.  Several  thousand  armed  Boxers 
have  possession  of  the  German  railway  building 
at  Kaomi  in  Shantung,  and  state  their  purpose 
is  to  drive  out  the  foreigner. 

February  28.  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  Governor  of 
Shantung,  has  sent  a  private  messenger,  an  ex- 
drillmaster  in  his  army  corps,  to  Baron  von 
Ketteler,  the  German  minister,  to  say  he  will 
disperse  the  Boxers  at  Kaomi  and  restore  quiet. 

March  14.  The  man  who  obtained  for  the 
British  syndicate  the  concession  known  as  the 
Peking  syndicate's  Shansi  concessions  to  mine 
and  build  railways,  was  arrested  for  assisting  for- 
eigners to  obtain  concessions  in  China.  Upon 
Sir  Claude  MacDonald's  demanding  his  release, 
the  Empress  promptly  sentenced  him  to  impris- 
onment for  life.  This  will  deter  others  from 
helping  foreigners  in  any  capacity. 

March  15.  United  States  Minister  Conger, 
having  protested  against  the  Empress  using  Yu 
Hsien,  ex-governor  of  Shantung,  in  any  province 
where  American  interests  are  great,  is  greatly 
displeased  to  learn  to-day  that,  so  far  from  heed- 
ing, the  Empress  has  actually  appointed  him 
Governor  of  Shansi,  in  which  are  not  only  a 
number  of  American  missionary  stations,  but  the 
interests  of  the  Peking  syndicate. 

D 


50 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


ANCIENT  ASTRONOMICAL  INSTRUMENTS 
These  peculiar  instruments,  which  are  of  great  astronomical 
merit,  were  made  during  the  reign  of  Kublai  Khan,  A.  D.  1264. 
An  especial  interest  attaches  to  this  illustration,  on  account  of  the  at- 
tempt of  the  Germans  to  remove  these  instruments  to  Berlin,  and  the 
protest  made  against  it  by  General  Chaffee,  of  the  U.S.  Army.  The 
engraving  shows  the  instruments  just  as  they  were  used  for  hun- 
dreds of  years,  before  they  were  taken  apart  for  removal  to  Europe. 

April  24.  Boxers  aggregating  nearly  10,000 
have  collected  in  one  place  near  Paotingfu,  and 
are  very  disorderly.  The  outlook  is  very  threat- 
ening, not  only  there  but  at  Tungchow,  thirteen 


ALARM    AND   WARNING  51 

miles  south  of  Peking,  and  at  Tsunhua,  to  the 
east  of  Peking.  At  all  these  places  there  are 
large  American  missionary  stations. 

May  17.  Boxer  movement  has  now  assumed 
definite  shape  and  alarming  proportions.  They 
have  destroyed  several  Catholic  villages  east  of 
Paotingfu,  and  are  moving  on  the  property  of  the 
American  Board's  mission  at  Choochow  at  Kung 
Tsun.  They  have  also  looted  the  London  mission's 
premises,  and  killed  several  Christians.  Boxers  are 
now  daily  to  be  seen  practicing  in  Peking  and  the 
suburbs.     Situation  is  growing  serious  here. 

May  18.  I  have  been  warned  by  one  of  the 
princes  that  I  should  take  my  family  from  Pe- 
king, as  he  states  his  own  elder  brother  is  a 
Boxer,  and  that  foreigners  are  no  longer  safe  in 
Peking.  Have  fully  informed  the  United  States 
minister  of  the  situation,  but  he  believes  the  offi- 
cial promises  that  all  is  well. 

May  21.  Foreign  ministers  have  held  a  meet- 
ing and  discussed  question  of  bringing  legation 
guards  to  Peking.  The  French  minister  favored 
this,  but  Conger  opposed,  stating  he  believed 
the  government  resolutely  means  to  suppress  the 
Boxers.  No  action  was  taken,  it  being  decided 
to  await  further  developments. 

May  24.  The  tsung-li-yamen  has  not  yet  re- 
plied to  the  joint  note  sent  them  by  the  foreign 
ministers  four  days  ago,  requesting  that  the  Box- 


52  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

ers  be  dealt  with  summarily.  Unless  an  imme- 
diate and  vigorous  foreign  pressure  is  applied,  a 
general  uprising*is  sure. 

May  25.  General  Yang  was  killed  at  Ting- 
hsing,  Hsien,  near  Paotingfu,  either  by  his  own 
soldiers  or  the  Boxers.  The  soldiers  then  joined 
the  Boxers. 

May  26.  The  tsung-li-yamen  has  sent  a  vague 
and  temporizing  reply  to  the  foreign  ministers' 
demand  requiring  the  suppression  of  the  Boxers. 
They  are  now  regularly  enrolled  at  the  residences 
of  several  of  the  princes  in  this  city. 

May  28,  A.  M.  The  foreign  ministers  held 
another  meeting  to-day,  but  still  deferred  any  ac- 
tion looking  toward  defense,  as  the  tsung-li-yamen 
promises  that  it  will  shortly  issue  a  strong  edict 
that  will  suppress  the  Boxers.  Pichon  distrusts 
the  Chinese  promises  and  again  advocates  strong 
legation  guards. 

May  28,  4.10  P.  M.  Boxers  have  burned  the 
bridge  and  destroyed  the  track  at  Liuliho,  forty- 
five  miles  west  of  Peking,  on  the  Lu  Han  railway, 
and  are  advancing  toward  Marco  Polo  bridge, 
twelve  miles  from  here.  The  foreigners  employed 
on  the  railway  have  all  fled.  The  Tientsin  train 
is  overdue,  and  our  communication  with  the  coast 
threatened.  The  legations  are  just  beginning  to 
wake  up  to  the  fact  that  the  Boxer  movement  is 
a  perilous  one. 


PERIL   CLOSE   AT    HAND 


5S 


May  29.  At  last  it  has  come  to  our  very  door. 
Not  only  Liuliho  and  Changhsintien,  on  the  Lu 
Han  railroad,  have  been  destroyed,  but  the  junc- 
tion   at    Fengtai,   only   six    miles    from    here,   has 


FAMOUS   ARCH  OF   THE    MING   TOMBS 

A  celebrated  traveler  has  said  that  it  was  worth  encircling  the 
earth  to  see  this  beautiful  piece  of  architecture.  Were  it  in  the 
middle  of  Paris  or  New  York,  it  would  arouse  great  admiration 
and  wonder;  but,  situated  as  it  is  in  the  midst  of  a  wild  and  bar- 
ren landscape,  with  huge  mountains  for  a  background,  and  repre- 
senting as  it  does,  the  burial  place  of  a  mighty  dynasty  that  for 
ages  ruled  a  stupendous  nation,  it  fills  the  beholder  not  only  with 
wonder  and  admiration,  but  with  awe 

been  attacked,  looted,  and  burned,  and  all  the 
foreign  employes  have  fled  to  Tientsin.  The  for- 
eign ministers  now  want  guards  badly,  but,  as  it 
is  not  yet  known  whether  the  railroad  is  torn  up 


54  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

at  Fengtai,  there  is  no  certainty  of  getting  them 
quickly.  The  fate  of  a  large  party  of  French 
and  Belgian  women  and  children,  known  to  re- 
side at  Changhsintien,  is  not  known.  Legation 
street  is  crowded  with  villainous-looking  ruffians 
congregating  to  loot  if  opportunity  offers.  Until 
troops  arrive  the  situation  is  precarious. 

May  30.  The  tsung-li-yamen  has  requested 
the  foreign  ministers  not  to  bring  troops,  assur- 
ing them  they  are  not  necessary;  but  the  situation 
here  has  at  last  impressed  them,  and  they  have 
disregarded  the  yamen  and  ordered  up  guards 
at  once.  The  populace  are  quite  excited,  and 
only  need  a  slight  cause  to  break  out. 

May  30,  P.  M.  Viceroy  of  Chihli  has  forbid- 
den guards  taking  train  at  Tientsin.  Fifteen 
warships  are  reported  at  Taku. 

May  31.  Viceroy  of  Chihli  has  been  ordered 
by  the  yamen  to  allow  guards  to  take  train  for 
Peking,  but  requested  ministers  to  bring  only 
small  guards,  as  last  year.     Troops  have  arrived. 

June  I.  Populace  seems  cowed  and  sullen. 
Riots  in  the  city  may  now  be  prevented,  but  the 
problem  of  dealing  with  the  movement  is  one 
requiring  active  diplomatic  effort. 

June  2.  Station  buildings  south  of  Paotingfu 
on  the  Lu  Han  railway  have  been  burned,  and 
railroad  destroyed.  Party  of  thirty  Belgians,  in- 
cluding women  and  children,  attempted  to  escape 


MISSIONARIES    SLAIN  55 

to  Tientsin,  and  were  attacked  by  Boxers.  Sev- 
eral known  to  be  killed ;  fate  of  remainder  un- 
known. Said  to  be  surrounded  when  their  native 
interpreter  left  to  obtain  help.  Native  Christians 
of  the  American  Board's  mission  at  Choochow, 
and  the  American  Presbyterian  mission  at  Kuan- 
hsien,  are  pouring  steadily  into  Peking,  to  escape 
murder  at  the  hands  of  the  Boxers.  All  their 
houses  have  been  looted  and  burned. 

June  2,  8  P.  M.  Serious  dissension  among 
Chinese  ministers,  Prince  Ching  favoring  mod- 
eration and  suppression  of  the  Boxers.  He  is 
said  to  be  secretly  supported  in  this  by  Jung  Lu 
and  the  tsung-li-yamen.  Prince  Tuan,  supported 
by  Hsu  Tung,  Kang  Yi,  and  other  intensely  anti- 
foreign  ministers,  is  favoring  the  Boxer  move- 
ment.    A  crisis  is  imminent. 

June  3.  Church  of  England  missionaries 
Robinson  and  Norman  killed  at  Yungching  by 
Boxers,  and  their  chapels  looted  and  burned. 
Boxers  now  have  entire  control  of  country  from 
Tientsin  to  Paotingfu,  and  thence  northeastward 
to  Peking;  native  troops  make  no  effort  to  sup- 
press them.  All  religious  and  missionary  work  m 
North  China  is  ended  unless  treaty  powers  com- 
pel observance  of  treaty  provisions,  and  demand 
indemnities  for  each  and  every  infringement. 

June  4.  Native  converts  from  the  west  of 
Peking    report    that    many   thousand    Boxers    are 


56 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


assembling  at  Choochow  preparing  to  attack  the 
foreigners  and  converts  in  Peking.  The  mis- 
sionaries are  convinced  of  the  truth  of  this,  and 
have  informed  their  legations,  who  will  not  be- 
lieve  it.     Dr.  Taylor,   of   the   American   Presby- 


CHINESE    LITTER 

A  typical  method  of  Chinese  conveyance.  The  litter  is  sup- 
ported by  poles  to  the  backs  of  two  animals,  one  in  front,  the 
other  behind  ;  in  it  the  traveler  can  make  himself  comfortable. 
Beyond  are  the  massive  tombs  of  the  Ming  Dynasty,  the  famous 
arches  of  which  are  shown  elsewhere. 

terian  mission  at  Paotingfu,  telegraphed  to  the 
American  minister:  "We  are  safe  at  present, 
but  prospects  threatening." 

June   4    (afternoon).      Morning    train    arrived 
from  Tientsin  four  hours  late,  owing  to  burning 


DESTRUCTION  —  UNCERTAINTY  57 

of  bridge  and  destruction  of  station  building  at 
Huangtsun  by  Boxers.  Noon  train  now  overdue, 
and,  as  the  telegraph  wires  have  been  cut,  is 
unheard  from.  Unless  foreign  troops  are  imme- 
diately placed  to  guard  the  railway  we  shall  be 
cut  off  from  help  by  way  of  the  sea. 

June  5.  The  American  missionaries  in  Pao- 
tingfu  have  been  attacked,  and  have  wired  for 
help.  The  tsulig-li-yamen,  when  appealed  to  by 
United  States  minister,  said  it  would  telegraph 
the  local  officials  to  do  so.  But  unless  a  relief 
party  rescues  them  speedily  their  fate  is  certain 
death. 

June  5,  P.  M.  American  Methodist  mission  at 
Tsunhua,  with  twelve  children  and  four  women, 
are  beset  and  have  wired  for  help.  Trains  from 
Tientsin  have  ceased  to  arrive ;  we  are  sending 
a  courier  overland  with  mails. 

June  6.  United  States  consul  at  Tientsin  has 
wired  the  minister  here  that  the  Tientsin  native 
city  is  in  great  excitement,  and  the  situation  is 
very  serious ;  he  advised  that  no  women  or  chil- 
dren attempt  to  enter  Tientsin  from  Peking,  as 
they  could  not  get  through.  Fate  of  Paotingfu 
missionaries  unknown,  as  we  can  get  no  tele- 
grams through. 

June  6,  P.  M.  United  States  consul  wires  from 
Tientsin  that  the  situation  there  is  growing  stead- 
ily worse ;   an  attack  is  imminent.     Here  in   Pe- 


58  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

king  we  are  all  collecting  in  the  legations,  but 
have  insufficient  arms  and  ammunition.  Never- 
theless we  will  make  a  determined  stand. 

June  7.  I  have  overwhelming  evidence  that 
government  officials  are  the  real  causes  of  the 
Boxer  movement,  acting  under  the  direction  of 
the  Empress.  Therefore  the  tsung-li-yamen  and 
cabinet  are  supporting  this  movement,  which  is 
intended  to  exterminate  all  foreigners  and  Chris- 
tian converts.  The  senile  cabinet  has  persuaded 
the  Empress  this  is  possible,  and  they  are  quite 
willing  to  face  the  inevitable  foreign  war  that 
their  policy  entails.  The  imbecility  of  this  idea 
does  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  facts.  The 
foreign  powers  should  all  prepare  for  war  at  once, 
or  entrust  the  work  to  those  powers  nearest  and 
best  fitted  to  successfully  undertake  it.  The 
sooner  this  is  done  the  less  will  be  the  loss  of 
life  and  property.  The  tsung-li-yamen  yesterday 
promised  Sir  Claude  MacDonald,  through  the 
secretary  of  Prince  Ching,  that  if  the  foreign 
ministers  would  not  press  for  a  personal  audience 
with  the  Empress,  as  they  intended  doing.  Prince 
Ching  would  guarantee  the  restoration  of  the 
interrupted  railway  in  two  days,  and  a  general 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  affairs.  Another 
useless  edict  was  put  out  to-day  mildly  enjoining 
officials  to  distinguish  between  good  and  bad 
Boxers,  and  punish  only  the  bad. 


FLIGHT   TO   PEKING 


59 


June  7,  P.  M.  Twenty  converts  have  been 
murdered  at  Huangtsun,  thirteen  miles  south. 
Missionaries  at  Tungchow  have  decided  to  aban- 
don their  valuable  compound,  and  have  tele- 
graphed the  United  States  minister  to  send  them 


Hsii  Yung  1      Wang;        Chao  Shu       Conger       Yu  Keng 
Beheaded        Wen  Chiao  U.S.       Minister  to 

Aug.  9,  igoo.      Shao.     Boxer  Chief.  Minister.      Paris. 

A  group  in  front  of  the  American  Legation 

a  guard  of  marines  to  escort  the  women  and 
children  to  Peking.  This  compound  contains  a 
valuable  college,  and  will  inevitably  be  burned. 

June  8.  Tungchow  missionaries  have  arrived 
safely  in  Peking.  Two  other  stations  on  the 
Tientsin  railway,  Lofa  and   Langfang,  have   been 


6o  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

burned,  as  well  as  the  college  compound  at  Tung- 
chow.  Tsung-li  -  yamen  has  refused  to  allow  a 
reinforcement  of  the  legation  guards  now  in  Pe- 
king. Although  thirty  warships  of  all  nationali- 
ties are  at  Taku,  Peking  is  completely  isolated. 
Why  America,  after  Secretary  Hay's  much  vaunted 
open-door  policy,  should  allow  her  representative 
to  be  denied  sufficient  guard  for  the  safety  of 
himself  and  his  countrymen  is  something  one 
cannot  comprehend,  unless  the  representative  has 
not  kept  his  government  well  informed. 

June  8,  P.  M.  Most  alarming  situation.  Mis- 
sionaries from  all  compounds  in  this  city  com- 
pelled to  abandon  their  homes  and  seek  refuge 
in  the  Methodist  mission,  which  is  nearer  the 
legations,  being  a  half  mile  east  of  the  United 
States  legation.  They  have  a  few  shotguns  and 
very  little  ammunition,  and  are  surrounded  by 
their  terrified  converts,  who  have  fled  with  them. 
Prince  Ching's  promise  of  restored  railway  has 
proved  false.  The  foreign  ministers  now  realize 
they  have  been  fooled  again,  and  have  lost  two 
days'  valuable  time.  We  call  upon  our  govern- 
ment to  make  haste  and  rescue  our  wives  and 
families  quickly  or  it  will  be  too  late. 

June  9.  Emperor  and  Empress  return  to-day 
to  the  city  from  the  summer  palace.  Another 
futile  edict  has  been  put  out  to  further  delude 
the    foreign   ministers.     It   is  known  that  Prince 


t 

UNITED    STATES    URGED    TO   ACT  6i 

Ching  has  expostulated  with  the  cabinet,  but  to 
no  purpose. 

June  9,  P.  M.  United  States  Minister  Conger 
has  sent  in  all  twenty  marines  to  assist  the  Meth- 
odist mission  compound  in  their  defense.  Still 
no  word  from  Paotingfu  missionaries. 

June  lo.  Five  hundred  marines  and  sailors 
left  Tientsin  to  relieve  us.  They  can  get  as  far 
as  Anting,  twenty  miles  south  of  here,  by  train, 
and  will  then  have  to  march  the  remainder  of 
the  distance.  If  prompt  they  should  arrive  to- 
morrow. Methodist  mission  is  fortifying  the 
place  with  strong  brick  walls  and  barbed  wire. 

After  this  telegram  I  was  notified  that  the 
wires  south  were  cut,  and  sent  only  one  message 
more,  on  July  12,  by  way  of  Kiachta,  relating 
the  murder  of  the  Japanese  secretary  and  urging 
prompt  government  action  looking  to  our  rescue. 

The  history  of  the  growth  of  the  Boxer  move- 
ment seems  to  me  to  have  been  clearly  shown 
by  these  telegrams,  so  that  any  one  of  ordinary 
understanding  could  have  been,  by  June  i,  if  in 
possession  of  this  series  of  dispatches,  fully 
acquainted   with   the    situation. 

The  United  States  minister,  the  British  minis- 
ter, and  the  French  minister  were  each  acquainted 
with  all  the  above  major  facts  and  much  more 
minor  detail. 


CHAPTER   IV 

DIARY  OF  THE  AUTHOR  FROM  JUNE  i  TO  JUNE  20 


T 


CHAO   SHU    CHIAO 
Boxer  Member  of  Cabinet 


HE  following  tran- 
scription of  my  diary 
gives  the  principal 
events  in  the  situation 
up  to  the  date  of  the 
close  siege,  going  back 
a  little  in  point  of  time 
from  the  last  chapter. 

June  I.  After  three 
days  of  exciting  mental 
strain,  we  can  at  last 
breathe  easier.  Rumors  continue  to  fill  the  air  of 
plots  within  the  palace,  riots  against  the  Catholic 
cathedral,  railway  being  torn  up  between  here 
and  Tientsin,  etc.  But  the  solid  fact  remains  that 
a  few  foreign  guards  have  arrived  at  six  lega- 
tions, and  a  machine  gun  will  now  have  some- 
thing to  say  in  one's  behalf  if  the  excited 
populace's  thirst  for  foreign  blood  becomes  too 
pressing. 

With  the  exception  of  M.  Pichon,  the  French 
minister,  all  the  other  ministers  are  greatly  to 
blame  for  their  tardy  recognition  of  the  impend- 
ing trouble,   and   they  have  very  nearly  had   the 

(62) 


MINISTERS    SLOW    TO    BELIEVE  63 

odium  of  a  preventible  foreign  massacre  to  an- 
swer for. 

Sir  Claude  MacDonald,  for  whom  the  entire 
English  community  outside  his  legation  feel,  and 
have  openly  expressed,  the  greatest  contempt, 
would  not  believe  that  there  was  any  danger 
coming,  and  vigorously  opposed  Pichon's  advice 
that  the  troops  be  sent  for  ten  days  ago. 

Mr.  Conger  seconded  Sir  Claude,  partly  be- 
cause the  United  States  legation  quarters  are  so 
limited  that  the  second  secretary  and  his  wife 
are  obliged  to  live  in  two  rooms  over  the  main 
office  building,  and  partly  because  he  believed 
the  government  willing  and  capable  of  putting 
down  the  disorder.  Both  were  suddenly  con- 
verted when  Fengtai,  only  six  miles  away,  was 
burned,  and  the  Boxers  were  reported  marching 
unopposed  upon  Peking.  Then  the  most  excit- 
ing telegraphing  for  warships  to  come  to  Taku, 
and  guards  and  machine  guns  to  come  to  Peking, 
became  the  order  of  the  day. 

Had  the  Boxers  been  at  all  organized  they 
could  have  torn  up  the  track  for  a  mile  or  two 
at  Fengtai,  and  effectually  cut  oflf  the  troops 
from  arriving  in  time  to  prevent  any  city  riots. 
Fortunately,  they  seem  to  have  been  carried  away 
by  the  desire  to  loot,  and  after  they  had  carried 
ofif  all  the  furniture  and  belongings  of  the  eight 
foreign    residences    at    Fengtai,    and    robbed    the 


64  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Empress'  private  car  of  all  movable  property, 
they  were  content  to  set  fire  to  the  stations  and 
machine  shops,  and  then  clear  out  home  to  the 
adjoining  villages. 

June  4.  None  of  the  Boxers  have  been  pun- 
ished, and  they  have  grown  bolder,  burning  the 
next  station  below  Fengtai,  known  as  Huangtsun, 
thirteen  miles  from  Peking,  killing  two  Church 
of  England  missionaries  named  Robinson  and 
Norman  at  Yungching,  and  defeating  a  force  of 
Cossacks  sent  out  from  Tientsin  to  search  for  the 
surviving  Belgians  escaping  from  the  Lu  Han 
railway.  In  spite  of  this,  and  with  seventeen 
men-of-war  at  Tangku,  the  foreign  ministers,  be- 
sides bringing  up  each  a  guard  of  fifty  or  seventy- 
five  men  to  protect  his  own  legation,  are  doing 
nothing  —  that  we  can  see  at  any  rate  —  to  pacify 
the  country.  Why  they  don't  land  a  large  force, 
come  to  Peking,  and  seize  the  old  reprobates 
that  they  all  know  are  the  real  bosses  of  the 
Boxer  movement  in  Peking,  and  hold  them  re- 
sponsible for  any  further  movement,  nobody 
knows. 

Every  minister  can  tell  you  that  Hsu  Tung, 
Kang  Yi,  Chung  Li,  Chung  Chi,  and  Chao  Shu 
Chiao,  with  Prince  Tuan,  are  the  real  causes  of 
all  the  present  disorder.  Although  they  all  know 
this,  they  still  pretend  to  believe  the  assurances 
of  the  government  to  the  contrary.    .    .    . 


THRILLING    EVENTS  65 

June  13.  Events  have  been  too  exciting  to 
allow  of  one  sitting  down  quietly  to  write.  The 
missionaries  from  Tungchow,  thirteen  miles  south 
of  Peking,  have  fled  into  this  city,  and  all  their 
college  plant,  private  residences,  and  property 
have  been  destroyed  by  soldiers  sent  from  the 
taotai's  yamen  to  protect  them.  All  the  Peking 
missionaries  have  gathered  together  in  the  Meth- 
odist mission  compound,  where,  with  such  arms 
as  they  could  collect  —  a  few  shotguns,  rifles,  and 
revolvers  —  and  with  a  guard  of  twenty  marines, 
sent  by  Mr.  Conger,  United  States  minister,  they 
have  fortified  themselves  with  barbed  wire  and 
brick  fences,  and  are  "holding  the  fort." 

For  days  we  have  heard  no  word  from  our 
Presbyterian  missionaries  at  Paotingfu.  The  last 
word,  now  some  days  since,  which  came  through 
the  tsung-li-yamen  and  is  therefore  untrustworthy, 
was  that  they  were  safe  at  present.  Wires  south 
have  been  cut  since  the  burning  of  the  college 
buildings  at  Tungchow,  and  I  have  been  unable 
to  write  home  the  developments  daily  occurring. 

On  the  loth  of  June,  just  before  the  wires 
were  cut,  we  had  a  message  from  United  States 
Consul  Ragsdale,  saying  eight  hundred  odd  troops 
were  coming  to  our  assistance,  but  to-day  is  the 
fourth  day  since  its  receipt,  and  we  only  know 
of  their  reaching  Lofa,  a  burned  station  on  the 
railway  to  Tientsin,  on  Monday  night.    We  have 


66  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

been  expecting  them  every  hour  since,  but  no 
definite  word  of  their  arrival  at  any  other  place 
has  reached  us.  Why  they  don't  send  natives 
in  advance  we  can't  imagine. 

June  1 8.  Eleven  days  v^e  have  been  besieged 
in  Legation  street.  Our  little  guard  of  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  marines  and  sailors  of  all  national- 
ities have  kept  unceasing  watch  night  and  day, 
and  are  nearly  exhausted.  Eleven  days  ago  we 
were  told  that  an  army  was  marching  to  our  re- 
lief, and  although  they  had  only  eight  miles  to 
come  we  have  not  yet  seen  them,  nor  do  we 
know  their  whereabouts. 

We  have  nightly  repelled  attacks  of  Boxers 
and  soldiers  of  the  government,  and  have  killed 
in  sorties  over  two  hundred  of  them ;  but  we 
have  millions  about  us,  and  unless  relieved  must 
soon  succumb.  Our  messengers  to  the  outside 
world  have  been  captured  and  killed,  and  our 
desperate  situation,  while  it  may  be  guessed,  can- 
not be  truly  known. 

With  fifty  men-of-war  now  at  Taku  we  have 
to  remain  within  our  barricaded  streets  and  wit- 
ness the  destruction  of  all  the  mission  premises 
and  private  foreign  residences  on   the  outside. 

The  American  Board  mission's  large  property, 
the  two  large  Catholic  cathedrals  known  as  the 
South  cathedral  and  the  East  cathedral,  the  two 
compounds   of   the    American    Presbyterian    mis- 


TIMES    THAT    TRY    MEN'S    SOULS  67 

sion,  the  Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
mission,  the  International  Institute,  and  the  Lon- 
don mission  have  all  furnished  magnificent  con- 
flagrations, which  we  have  beheld  without  being 
able  in  any  way  to  prevent. 

At  each  place  the  furious  Boxers,  aided  by 
their  soldier  sympathizers,  have  murdered,  with 
shocking  mutilation,  all  the  gatekeepers  as  well 
as  any  women  and  children  in  the  neighborhood 
suspected  of  being  Christians  or  foreign  sym- 
pathizers. 

At  the  South  cathedral  the  massacre  was  shock- 
ing; so  much  so  that  when  some  of  the  poor 
mutilated  children  came  fleeing  across  the  city, 
bringing  the  news  of  what  was  going  on,  a  relief 
party  was  organized  from  our  little  force,  con- 
sisting of  twelve  Russians,  twelve  American  ma- 
rines, and  two  civilians,  W.  N.  Pethick  and  M. 
Duysberg,  armed  with  shotguns,  who,  risking 
conflict  with  the  Manchu  troops,  marched  two 
miles  from  our  barricades  and,  coming  on  the 
Boxers  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  the  ruins,  fired 
a  number  of  volleys  into  them,  killing  over  sixty, 
upon  which  the  rest  fled.  They  then  collected 
the  women  and  children  hidden  in  the  surround- 
ing alleys,  and  marched  them  back  to  us,  where 
they  are  for  the  present  safe. 

I  have  just  finished  dressing  the  wounded 
head    of    a   little    girl    ten   years    of   age,  who,   in 


68  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

spite  of  a  sword  cut  four  inches  long  in  the  back 
of  her  head  and  two  fractures  of  the  outer  table 
of  the  skull,  walked  all  the  way  back  here,  lead- 
ing a  little  sister  of  eight  and  a  brother  of  four. 
As  she  patiently  endured  the  stitching  of  the 
wound,  she  described  to  me  the  murder  of  her 
father  and  mother  and  the  looting  of  her  home. 
One  old  man  of  sixty  carried  his  mother  of  eighty 
upon  his  back  and  brought  her  into  temporary 
safety;  but  how  long  before  we  are  all  murdered 
we  cannot  say. 

Our  anxiety  has  been  something  frightful,  and 
at  this  moment,  many  days  since  we  were  told 
that  troops  were  coming  to  our  relief,  we  are 
apparently  no  nearer  rescue  than  at  first.  We 
can't  comprehend  it.  Night  before  last,  after 
being  driven  away  by  our  hot  rifle  fire,  the  Box- 
ers turned  on  the  defenseless  shopkeepers  in  the 
southern  city,  and  burned  many  acres  of  the  best 
business  places  and  native  banks. 

They  also  burned  the  great  city  gate,  known 
as  the  Chien  Men,  an  imposing  structure  of  many 
stories  high,  which  must  have  illuminated  the 
surrounding  country  for  miles.  Surely  our  troops 
must  have  seen  the  glare,  if  they  were  within 
forty  miles  of  us.  We  begin  to  fear  they  have 
met  with  an  overwhelming  force  of  Chinese  sol- 
diers, and  have  been  driven  back  to  Tientsin. 

The  tsung-li-yamen,  or  foreign  office,  is  utterly 


THE    GREAT    GATE 


69 


MAIN   GATE   TO   PEKING,    DESTROYED   BY   BOXERS   SEPT.   16,   1900 

This  is  one  of  Peking's  main  and  most  imposing  gates.  Notice 
the  massive  building  above  the  wall;  note  the  solidity  of  the  wall 
itself;  an  idea  of  its  great  height  can  be  formed  by  noticing  how 
small  a  proportion  is  occupied  by  the  arch  and  yet  how  small  a 
proportion  of  the  arch  is  actually  required  for  the  passing  vehicles. 

powerless,  and  yet  it  continues  to  send  us  mes- 
sages stating  it  is  going  to  protect  us,  and  it  has 
the  Empress  issue  daily  edicts,  which,  while  ap- 
parently condemning  the  Boxers,  really  encour- 
age them. 


70  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

The  Manchu  soldiers  have  stood  idly  by  in 
thousands,  and  have  seen  the  frightful  butcheries 
of  converts  and  suspected  converts,  without  rais- 
ing a  finger  to  interfere.  When  questioned  why 
they  did  not  obey  the  edicts  authorizing  them  to 
repress  arson  and  looting  they  have  replied,  "We 
have  other  instructions." 

Mauser  bullets  are  nightly  fired  at  our  sen- 
tries, and  every  night  we  have  to  turn  out  a 
number  of  times  to  repel  the  cowardly  natives, 
whom  we  find  sneaking  down  upon  us,  and  who 
dare  attack  only  under  cover  of  darkness. 

The  behavior  of  our  women  and  children 
under  these  circumstances  has  been  remarkable, 
and  their  courage  and  bravery  above  all  praise. 

Should  these  lines  ever  be  published  I  wish 
to  make  known  to  the  world  the  great  courage, 
devotion,  and  constant  watchfulness  of  Captain 
John  T.  Myers,  of  the  marine  corps.  We  will 
owe  to  him  our  lives  and  the  lives  of  our  loved 
ones  if  we  are  ever  rescued.  His  bravery  and 
endurance  will,  if  he  survives,  mark  him  for  high 
command  some  day.  While  all  the  officers  here 
have  acted  well,  yet  he  is  head  and  shoulders 
above  them  in  coolness  and  decision,  and  all  the 
other  nationalities  come  to  him  for  advice  and 
counsel. 

He  is  well  seconded  here  by  ex-Lieutenant 
Herbert  G.  Squiers,  Seventh  United   States  Cav- 


OUR    SECRETARY   OF   LEGATION 


71 


airy,  who  is  first  secretary  of  legation.  Had  Mr. 
Squiers  been  minister,  we  would  never  have  been 
in  our  present  terrible  situation,  for  he  realized 
the  appalling  nature  of  the  threatened  outbreak 
while  the  ministers  pooh-poohed  it.    As  he  could 


HERBERT    G.    SQUIERS 
First  Secretary,   United  States  Legation,  Peking 

not  of  his  own  initiative  order  up  troops  in  time, 
he  laid  in  abundant  stores  of  rice  and  other  eata- 
bles, and  bought  up  all  the  wagons  and  ammu- 
nition purchasable. 

The  blind  trust  the  ministers  (with  the  excep- 


72  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

tion  perhaps  of  M.  Pichon)  placed  in  the  prom- 
ises of  the  tsung-li-yamen,  in  the  face  of  the 
daily  increasing  riots  and  murder,  is  an  instance 
of  childlike  simplicity  which  I  trust  they  may 
never  have  an  opportunity  to  repeat  elsewhere. 
The  entire  community  here,  of  civilians  and 
military  alike,  condemn  them  as  a  set  of  incom- 
petents. 

They  now,  of  course,  all  see  their  mistake  in 
being  fooled  by  the  tsung-li-yamen,  and  pre- 
vented from  bringing  a  sufficient  force  here 
until  the  railroad  was  destroyed  and  hordes  of 
fierce  Kansu  ruffians  placed  in  the  way  of  ad- 
vancing relief. 

The  marines  of  the  Newark  and  Oregon,  of 
which  we  have  fifty,  that  compose  the  entire 
American  force,  are  a  sturdy  lot  of  courageous, 
devoted  men.  Sober,  intelligent,  cheerful,  en- 
during, all  of  them  are  as  brave  as  lions.  Ser- 
geant Walker  alone,  at  the  South  cathedral, 
killed  seven   of   the  Boxers. 

The  district  held  by  us  is  about  a  half-mile 
east  and  west  on  Legation  street,  and  is  guarded 
by  blocking  the  streets  at  the  Itahan  legation  on 
the  east  and  the  Russian  legation  on  the  west. 
At  each  barricade  there  is  placed  a  machine  gun. 
A  diagram  of  the  ground  held  will  be  found 
on  another  page.  June  19,  yesterday,  the  tsung- 
li-yamen    ministers    (four    of    them)    visited    the 


FAIR    WORDS,  BUT    FALSE!  73 

English,  Russian,  and  American  legations,  and 
begged  the  foreign  ministers  to  persuade  the 
relief  guards  that  we  hope  are  coming  to  our 
aid,  to  return,  assuring  them  that  from  this  time 
on  the  Chinese  would  prevent  any  further  Boxer 
outrages  on  foreigners,  and  that  legation  prem- 
ises should  be  safe.  They  also  said  the  Empress 
was  now  sure  that  the  Boxer  movement  was  a 
menace  to  the  government  as  well  as  the  for- 
eigners, and  that  the  imperial  troops  would  be 
ordered  to  shoot  every  Boxer  on  sight.  As  all 
the  afternoon  our  sentinels  on  the  city  wall  saw 
Boxers  in  full  regalia  going  at  pleasure  among 
the  native  troops  stationed  about  the  ruined 
Chien  Men,  we  know  that  the  tsung-li-yamen's 
words  were,  as  usual,  a  pack  of  lies. 

A  messenger  arrived  yesterday  from  Tientsin 
from  Mr.  E.  B.  Drew,  commissioner  of  customs, 
to  Dr.  Morrison,  of  the  London  Times,  stating 
that  the  railroad  had  been  destroyed  in  the  rear 
of  the  relief  column,  and  they  were  being  driven 
back  on   Tientsin  and  away  from  us. 

Surely  our  condition  is  desperate.  Food  is 
getting  scarce.  Boxers  are  mixing  openly  with 
the  Chinese  soldiers,  our  own  soldier  boys  are 
getting  worn  out  by  constant  watching,  and  no 
help  is  nigh. 

July  i8.  On  June  19,  nearly  a  month  ago 
to-day,  the   tsung-li-yamen  sent  the   foreign  min- 


74  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

isters  word  that,  as  the  admirals  at  Taku  had 
notified  the  viceroy  of  Chihli  through  the  French 
consul  if  he  opposed  troops  landing  in  any  re- 
quired numbers  they  would  take  the  Taku  forts, 
and  as  this  was  really  a  declaration  of  war,  the 
foreign  ministers  were  hereby  requested  to  leave 
Peking,  one  and  all,  within  twenty-four  hours, 
and  proceed  to  Tientsin  en  route  to  their  re- 
spective countries,  a  Chinese  escort  for  which 
was  to  be  provided  by  the  Chinese  government. 

As  the  railroad  had  already  been  destroyed 
all  the  way  to  Tientsin,  and  the  intended  relief 
corps  under  Admiral  Seymour  and  Captain 
McCalla  had  been  driven  back  without  being 
able  to  reach  us,  and  as  we  knew  the  country 
between  Peking  and  Tientsin  was  filled  with 
thousands  of  Boxers  and  hostile  soldiers,  it 
seemed  patent  to  the  most  simple  intellect  that 
to  leave  the  protection  of  our  legation  walls  was 
to   invite    massacre. 

But  the  intensely  dense  ministers.  Sir  Claude 
MacDonald,  E.  H.  Conger,  M.  de  Giers,  M. 
Pichon,  and  others,  all  excepting  Baron  von 
Ketteler,  the  German  minister,  actually  agreed 
to  proceed  to  Tientsin  on  the  morrow  with  all 
their  nationals,  providing  only  that  the  Chinese 
government  would  furnish  transportation.  The 
military  officers  all  declared  this  would  mean 
the   massacre   of   the   entire   community. 


VON    KETTELER'S    DEATH  75 

The  ministers,  however,  would  certainly  have 
had  us  all  thus  massacred  had  not  the  unfor- 
tunate Baron  von  Ketteler  been  murdered  the 
next  morning  by  the  Chinese  troops  while  pro- 
ceeding to  the  tsung-li-yamen  to  consult  about 
details.  He  rode,  as  is  customary,  to  the  tsung- 
li-yamen  from  his  legation  in  a  sedan  chair. 
When  passing -the  entrance  of  Tsung  Pu  street, 
just  below  the  yamen,  he  was  fired  upon  by  a 
troop  of  Manchu  troops  of  Yung  Lu  upon  the 
command  of  a  lieutenant  with  a  white  button, 
and  was  mortally  wounded.  His  secretary  inter- 
preter, Mr.  Corder,  who  accompanied  him,  was 
also  badly  wounded  by  the  volley,  but,  aided  by 
some  friendly  natives,  managed  to  escape  to  the 
Methodist  mission  near  Legation  street,  where, 
after  having  his  wounds  dressed,  he  was  sent  on 
to  his  legation.  The  horse  coolie  had  already 
quickly  galloped  back  to  the  legation  and  given 
the  alarm. 

The  folly  of  trusting  our  lives  to  the  Chinese 
escort  was  thus  made  clear,  and  the  foreign 
ministers,  dense  as  they  were,  could  not  but 
realize  that  to  trust  themselves  and  their  families 
to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  ruffians  who  would 
be  appointed  to  escort  and  murder  them  and 
us,  would  be  lunacy  to  a  degree  at  which  even 
they  were   not  yet  arrived. 

I  had,  in  company  with  the  correspondent  of 


76  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

the  London  "Times,"  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  20th  of  June,  in  the  most  emphatic  language, 
represented  the  true  state  of  the  case  to  Min- 
ister Conger,  only  to  be  met  with  the  cold 
reply,  as  he  turned  away  after  listening  to  us, 
"  I   don't  agree  with  you." 

But  on  receipt  of  the  news  of  Ketteler's 
death,  a  few  moments  later,  the  United  States 
minister  "changed  his  mind,"  and  reluctantly 
admitted  it  would  be  impossible  to  go  to  Tien- 
tsin, and  that  we  must  try  and  defend  ourselves 
in  Peking  until  a  large  relief  force  could  arrive 
to  rescue  us. 

Hasty  preparations  were  then  made  to  send 
all  the  women  and  children  into  the  English 
legation,  which  was  the  largest  of  all  the  lega- 
tions, as  well  as  the  strongest,  from  which  to 
make   a  final  stand. 

In  a  few  hours  after  the  news  of  Von  Kette- 
ler's murder  a  steady  stream  of  men,  women, 
and  children,  carrying  bundles,  buckets,  and 
trunks,  could  have  been  seen  pouring  into  the 
main  gate  of  the  British  legation,  all  with  anxious 
faces.  Carts,  too,  loaded  with  provisions  from 
the  three  foreign  stores,  were  making  the  best 
use  of  the  time  in  transferring  all  the  available 
eatables  and  drinkables  within  the  protection  of 
the  legation  walls. 

As  the  twenty-four  hours  granted  us  in  which 


BESIEGED  77 

to  hasten  from  the  city  expired  at  4  P.  M.,  all 
used  their  entire  energy  as  well  as  that  of  the 
coolies  and  servants  at  their  disposal,  so  that  at 
the  time  specified,  when  the  Chinese  opened  a 
terrifying  fire  upon  us  from  all  sides,  provisions 
enough  to  last  us  several  months  were  safely 
under  shelter. 


CHAPTER   V 


DIARIES  OF  THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  SON  FROM  JUNE  20 
ro  END    OF  SIEGE 


A 


HSII   YUNG   I 

Beheaded  for  favoring  moderation 

Member  of  Tsung-li-yamen 


T  four  o'clock  on 
the  afternoon  of 
June  20,  1900,  all 
the  foreign  women  and 
children,  and  nearly  all 
of  the  civilians  of  Peking 
and  vicinity,  including 
the  customs  staff  and  the 
missionary  body,  had 
taken  refuge  in  the  Brit- 
ish legation.  It  was  sur- 
prising to  every  one  to 
find  that,  in  the  time  that  had  elapsed  since  the 
arrival  of  the  British  marines,  May  31,  no  barri- 
cades had  been  erected,  no  trenches  dug,  nor  any 
attention  paid  whatever  to  rendering  the  place 
better  able  to  stand  a  siege. 

In  talking  with  one  of  the  British  sergeants, 
and  commenting  upon  this  utter  neglect,  he  in- 
formed me  that  Captain  Halliday  had,  a  few 
days  before,  attempted  to  improvise  some  bar- 
riers by  means  of  dry- goods  boxes  filled  with 
earth,  but  had   been  so  laughed  at  and  snubbed 

(78) 


AMERICANS    FOREMOST   IN    DEFENSE        79 

by  Captains  Strouts  and  Wray,  British  officers, 
that  he  had  given  up  the  attempt. 

Sir  Claude  MacDonald,  the  British  minister, 
who  is  an  ex-major  in  the  army,  and  should 
have  instructed  in  this  very  important  duty,  was, 
equally  with  marine  officers,  culpably  silent. 

The  American  missionaries,  however,  no 
sooner  arrived  than  they  formed  committees  on 
fortification,  sanitation,  food,  etc.,  and  set  ac- 
tively to  work;  and  to  them  belongs,  as  every 
one  agrees,  the  credit  of  placing  the  legation 
in    a   defensible    condition. 

To  Mr.  F.  D.  Gamewell,  of  the  American 
Methodist  mission,  more  than  to  any  other  one 
man,  is  due  the  success  which  has  attended  our 
defense.  His  energy  was  simply  extraordinary. 
From  morning  until  night  he  was  to  be  seen 
superintending  the  filling  of  sand-bags,  the  tear- 
ing down  of  houses  adjoining  our  walls  that 
might  serve  as  cover  to  the  enemy,  the  building 
of  barricades  and  strengthening  of  walls  from 
the  timbers  and  brick  so  obtained,  making  loop- 
holes at  the  proper  places  for  firing  through  and 
doing,  in  fact,  everything  that  could  have  been 
done  by  an  arm'y  engineer  of  experience;  all 
the  time,  too,  under  a  galling  rifle  fire  from  the 
outside  Chinese  army,  under  the  command  of 
the  Kansu  ruffian.  General  Tung  Fu  Hsiang. 

All   the   Chinese   coolies,   servants,  cooks,  and 


8o  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

retainers  of  the  foreigners,  to  the  number  of 
over  I, GOO,  were  enrolled,  given  a  badge  sewed 
to  their  sleeves,  declaring  their  identity,  and 
hours  fixed  for  their  employment  on  public  works 
for  general  defense. 

Latrines  and  garbage  tanks  were  arranged,  and 
the  place  put  under  proper  sanitary  regulation, 
supervised  by  Drs.  Coltman,  Lowry,  and  Inglis. 

A  hospital  was  equipped  under  Doctors  Velde 
and  Poole,  and  a  trained  nurse  corps  installed, 
consisting  of  several  lady  physicians  and  three 
trained  nurses. 

The  Holland  and  Belgian  legations,  being 
outside  of  the  line  of  defense  adopted  by  con- 
sultation of  the  military  captains,  were  aban- 
doned, but  it  was  decided  by  the  military  to  hold 
the  French,  German,  American,  Italian,  and  Rus- 
sian legations,  until  absolutely  untenable. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Italian  legation, 
these  premises  are  still  in  our  possession,  al- 
though the  French  and  German  legations  are 
but  shattered  wrecks,  every  building  being  full 
of  holes  from  shells  and  round-shot  of  the  Chi- 
nese cannon,  often  fired  at  only  two  hundred 
yards'  distance. 

On  the  afternoon  of  that  first  day  of  the  siege, 
F.  Huberty  James,  professor  of  English  in  the 
Imperial  University,  noticed  several  Chinese  sol- 
diers upon  the  bridge,  a  few  hundred  yards  north 


PROFESSOR    JAMES    ENTRAPPED 


of  the  legation  gate.  Without  stating  his  motive 
to  any  one,  although  it  is  supposed  he  intended 
to  converse  with  them,  and,  if  possible,  find  out 
their  orders  in  regard  to  us,  he  walked  from  the 
gate  up  the  street  along  the  canal  to  the  bridge. 


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^^^^^H^^H^^^^^^:- 

^"^^ 

BUILDING    BARRICADES    IN    GERMAN    LEGATION 
Without  the  barricades  the  defense  would  never  have  been  suc- 
cessful.    Some  very  hard   fighting  was  done  in  the  vicinity  of  this 
barricade.     The  lower  portion  was  built  of  brick,  with  sand-bags 
on  top  and  loop-holes  left  for  the  purpose  of  rifle  firing. 

He  had  no  sooner  arrived  there  than  several 
Chinese  soldiers,  concealed  behind  the  wall  of 
Prince  Su's  palace,  fired  upon  him.  The  sentry 
at  the  legation  gate  saw  him  hold  up  his  hands, 
then   heard  a  report  and  saw  him  fall.      He  was 


82  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

seen  to  partly  raise  himself,  when  several  of  the 
ruffian  soldiers  hurriedly  ran  out,  picked  him  up, 
and  carried  him  behind  the  corner  of  the  wall 
and  beyond,  the  reach  of  rescue.  His  fate  was 
probably  a  hasty  death  at  their  hands,  if,  indeed, 
he  was  not  already  mortally  wounded. 

When  I  heard  of  this  sad  affair,  an  hour  after 
its  occurrence,  I  could  scarcely  believe  that  my 
friend  who  had  welcomed  me  to  China  in  1885 
had  come  to  such  a  cruel  end.  He  had  not  an 
enemy  in  the  world,  and  was  uniformly  gentle 
and  considerate.  His  fate,  following  so  closely 
upon  Baron  von  Ketteler's,  the  first  day  of  our 
siege,  cast  a  deep  gloom  over  the  entire  com- 
munity. 

Promptly  at  4  P.  M.  the  Chinese  soldiers  opened 
fire  upon  all  the  legations  from  behind  the  sur- 
rounding houses;  but,  very  fortunately  for  us, 
most  of  their  bullets  flew  high  and  went  entirely 
over  the  legation  district  and  must  have  injured 
Chinese  residents  in  Peking  at  a  distance. 

The  British  legation  inside  presented  a  scene 
of  greatest  confusion.  Eatables  and  tinned  stores 
of  every  description  had  been  hastily  dumped  by 
coolies  into  all  parts  of  the  compound.  Men, 
women,  and  children  were  busy  for  some  hours 
trying  to  identify  and  collect  the  little  stores  they 
had  brought  or  sent  in,  with  the  idea  that  a  few 
days'  provision  would  be  all  that  would  be  neces- 


PROBLEM    OF    FOOD    AND    CLOTHING       83 

sary,  as  no  one  believed  that; Admiral  Seymour, 
Colonel  Wogack,  and  Captain  McCalla  would  be 
longer  than  a  week  at  most  in  relieving  us. 

Little  did  we  imagine  that  many  weeks  of 
siege  under  shot,  shell,  and  rifle-fire  must  be 
endured,  with  absolutely  no  word  from  the  out- 
side world,  before  we,  or  at  least  such  of  us  as 
survived,  would  again  come  forth. 

Many  had  left  their  homes  hurriedly,  taking 
with  them  nothing  but  the  clothes  they  wore. 
Having  left  my  own  house  one  week  previous, 
and  gone  to  the  United  States  legation  as  a 
guest  with  my  family,  I  had  been  requested 
not  to  bring  in  any  supply  of  provisions,  as  it 
would  alarm  people,  and  it  was  hoped  quiet 
would  be  restored  in  a  few  days. 

When  obliged  by  the  Chinese  ultimatum  to 
leave  Peking  or,  as  we  decided  after  Baron  von 
Ketteler's  murder,  to  take  refuge  in  the  British 
legation  and  await  reinforcements,  it  was  too 
late  to  visit  my  home  outside  of  the  foreign 
lines  and   remove  anything  from  my  storeroom. 

Fortunately  for  my  little  family,  Mr.  H.  G. 
Squiers,  as  I  have  mentioned,  had  laid  in  an 
abundant  supply  of  rice,  flour,  and  other  stores, 
and  he  offered,  if  I  would  undertake  to  move 
all  his  stores  safely  to  the  British  legation,  to 
contribute  to  my  needs.  This  I  was  only  too 
glad   to    do;    so,  taking   two  of   his  servants  and 


^  - 

1 

.          7 

^PW       ^^ 

■■^                                   -     -       -• 

■ 

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4 

^^•y^^tm  .■        ^ 

I^^^^^^^^C--^                i^SB 

I^^^^^H^^^           •wHk^^^^^^^MHE''^                           yi,:&!*{^^^Vm 

I^^^Kkii 

VIEW    FROM     THE    WALL    OF    PEKING     SHOWING     SCENE    OF 


1. — The  prominent  building  at  this  point  is  the  British  Legation,  prac- 
tically the  headquarters  of  the  defense.  2. — This  high  wall,  extending  the 
entire  length  of  the  picture,  marks  the  boundary  of  the  "Forbidden  City"; 
at  the  point  indicated,  the  Krupp  guns,  mentioned  in  the  narrative,  were 
mounted,  giving  them  a  sweeping  range  of  Legation  street.  3. — The 
residence  of  the  author  after  the  siege,  his  own  property  having  been  so 
badly  damaged  by  the  mob  as  to  make  it  untenantable.  4. — The  roof  of 
the  American  Legation  (in  another  picture  is  shown  a  view  of  the  Lega- 
tion itself).  5.  —  The  Russian  Legation,  another  of  the  most  important 
points  in  the  foreign  field  of  defense.  6. — Bridge  over  the  canal  at  Lega- 
tion street.  The  foul  and  stagnant  water  in  the  canal  and  the  filth  in 
its  bed  are  plainly  shown.  7. — The  roofs  of  the  Emperor's  palace  and 
"Forbidden    City"    and    other   portions   of  some   of   the    buildings   appear 

(84) 


THE   BLOCKADE   AND   OTHER   POINTS   OF   SPECIAL   INTEREST 


above  the  wall  that  surrounds  it.  It  will  be  noticed  that,  while  strictly 
barred  out  from  the  "Forbidden  City"  and  the  palace  of  the  Emperor,  the 
foreign  legations  were  nevertheless  within  a  comparatively  short  distance. 
8. — The  top  of  what  is  known  as  the  "Coal  Hill,"  in  the  Imperial  grounds 
of  the  "Forbidden  City,"  shows  over  the  top  of  the  wall.  This  hill  is  a 
vast  supply  of  coal,  which  has  been  accumulating  for  hundreds  of  years. 
It  is  entirely  without  shelter,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  authentic  history  to 
account  for  its  inception,  nor  any  special  reason  for  its  continuance;  but 
here,  in  the  most  sacred  place  in  the  Chinese  kingdom,  right  in  the  magnifi- 
cent palace  grounds  of  the  Emperor,  this  ugly,  unsightly  pile  of  coal,  covering 
several  acres  in  extent  and  rising,  as  can  be  seen  by  the  picture,  to  a  very 
considerable  height,  washed  by  the  rains  and  seamed  by  the  upheavals  of 
the  frosts  of  winter,  continues  to  exist,  as  it  has  done  from  time  immemorial. 

(85) 


86  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

the  only  two  of  mine  who,  out  of  nine,  had 
remained  faithful,  I  worked  from  9  A.  M.  until 
4  P.  M.  removing  Squiers'  stores  to  the  British 
legation. 

I  purchased,  also,  from  one  of  the  foreign 
stores  within  the  lines  of  defense  two  dozen  tins 
of  condensed  milk  and  four  tins  of  baked  beans, 
a  very  inadequate  provision  to  feed  six  children 
and  two  adults  for  two  months. 

Many  others  were  as  poorly  provided  for  as 
myself ;  but,  providentially,  within  the  region 
we  had  adopted  as  our  lines  of  defense,  were 
several  large  grain  shops  full  of  rice,  wheat,  and 
millet.  Our  carts  were  kept  busy  for  several 
days  hauling  these  supplies  into  the  English 
legation,  where  they  were  placed  in  charge  of 
a  commissary  officer  and  issued  out  as  needed. 

We  thus  had  sufficient  grain,  not  only  for  all 
the  foreigners,  but  also  for  the  two  thousand 
odd  refugees,  coolies,  and  servants,  who  had, 
from  one  motive  or  another,  cast  their  lot  with 
us.  From  the  grain  shops,  too,  we  brought  in 
their  millstones,  and,  as  we  had  altogether  over 
one  hundred  and  fifty  mules  and  horses,  we 
started  up  a  ten-mule-power  mill,  which  ground 
out  flour  all  day  for  the   needs  of  the  besieged. 

Being  oc'cupied  daily  with  the  sanitary  work 
and  attendance  on  the  sick,  I  was  unable  to 
keep    much   of   a   diary,  so    I   instructed   my  son 


FLAMES    ADD    TO    TERROR  87 

Robert,  aged  sixteen,  to  do  so  for  me,  and  the 
following  transcription  of  his  diary  gives  the  events 
of  our  daily  life  until  the  end  of  the  siege. 

June  21.  Most  of  the  Chinese  coolies  and 
many  foreigners  were  set  right  at  work  filling 
sand -bags  for  fortifying  all  the  weak  places  in 
the  legation,  while  the  women,  with  needle  and 
thread  and  the  few  sewing  machines  inside  the 
compound,  manufactured  the  bags  by  the  thou- 
sand. This  was  kept  up  until  20,000  to  25,000 
sand-bags  were  made. 

The  Belgian  legation  and  the  Methodist  mis- 
sion were  set  fire  to  and  completely  burned. 
Tung  Lu's  troops  kept  up  a  desultory  fusillade 
upon  us  all  day,  but  scarcely  any  of  the  bullets 
took  effect. 

It  was  reported  that  Prince  Ching's  troops 
were  firing  on  the  Boxers,  who  were  attacking 
the  customs  compound  and  Austrian  legation. 
This  report  was  afterward  proved  false.  The 
French  were  driven  from  their  barricade  in  the 
customs  lane  into  the  French  legation  compound. 

The  Chinese  set  fire  to  a  native  house  just 
in  the  rear  of  Mr.  Cockburn's  house,  hoping  it 
would  catch  to  the  latter  place.  It  was  very 
near,  and,  as  the  wind  was  strong,  was  only  pre- 
vented with  the  greatest  difficulty  from  spreading 
into  the  legation.  It  was  put  out  at  last,  after 
two  hours'  hard  fighting. 


88  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Some  of  the  marines  stationed  as  watchmen 
on  the  roof  of  the  Cockburn  house  had  seen 
Chinamen  sneaking  around  with  rags  soaked  in 
kerosene  and  had  fired  on  them,  but  had  not 
succeeded  in  preventing  the  fire  being  set. 

The  Austrians,  Itahans,  Germans,  and  Japan- 
ese were  forced  by  the  heavy  firing  to  leave 
their  legations  and  come  here.  The  Americans 
also  started,  but  were  sent  back.  The  Austrians 
and  Italians  were  never  able  to  retake  their  lega- 
tions, but  the  Germans  and  Japanese  returned 
very  shortly  to  theirs.  The  Germans  found  a 
Boxer  prisoner  missing  on  their  return  on  the 
23d  of  June. 

A  fire  was  started  just  outside  the  north  wall 
of  the  compound  at  10  A.  M.,  which  was  put  out, 
or  thought  to  have  been  put  out;  but  it  broke 
out  again  in  the  afternoon,  this  time  burning  a 
part  of  the  Hanlin  Library,  adjoining  the  legation 
on  the  north.  The  conflagration  was  separated 
from  the  legation  by  only  one  narrow  court,  so 
one  of  the  buildings  in  the  court  was  pulled 
down  to  prevent  its  spreading.  Thousands  of 
wooden  printing  blocks  were  thrown  into  the 
fire  to  get  rid  of  all  combustible  material  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood.  These  blocks  repre- 
sent days  of  labor  each,  and  were  used  in  print- 
ing valuable  (to  the  Chinese)  books.  Many 
valuable  books  also  perished  in  the   flames.     At 


RAIN    OF    SHOT   AND    SHELL  89 

night  a  guard  was  placed  in  the  Hanlin  yuan,  or 
garden,  to  watch  the  smoking  remains,  and,  as 
this  point  is  of  greatest  strategic  importance, 
barricades  will  be  erected  here  and  the  position 
maintained. 

June  22.  The  customs  compound  and  Aus- 
trian legation  were  burned,  the  Austrians  remain- 
ing in  the  French  legation  to  help  them  there. 
The  back  part  of  the  Russo-Chinese  bank  com- 
pound was  burned,  also  a  house  in  the  Japanese 
legation,  which  latter  fire  was  soon  subdued.  A 
discharge  of  shrapnel  from  a  gun  on  the  city  wall 
struck  the  gate  house  of  the  United  States  lega- 
tion, and  cut  down  the  flag-pole,  tearing  a  large 
hole  in  the  roof,  but  hurting  no  one. 

At  7  P.  M.  a  house  near  the  Hotel  de  Pein  was 
burned.  In  this  house  two  Boxers  were  captured. 
When  seen,  they  threw  down  their  swords  and 
attempted  to  escape,  but  were  caught  and  brought 
into  the  British  legation  to  be  locked  up. 

The  fortifying  operations  are  being  pushed 
forward  vigorously  under  the  excellent  manage- 
ment of  Mr.  F.  D.  Gamewell.  He  is  the  one 
man  competent  to  take  charge  of  affairs  here,  as 
the  British,  although  in  their  own  legation,  and 
knowing  that  the  place  was  to  be  the  last  place 
of  refuge,  had  not  done  a  stroke  of  work  toward 
fortifying  it,  and  seemed  to  be  as  helpless  as 
children. 


90 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


June  24.  At  ten  minutes  past  midnight  the 
Chinese  began  a  furious  fusillade  from  all  quar- 
ters, and  an  alarm 
was  rung  from  the 
bell-tower,  notifying 
all  of  a  general  at- 
tack. But  after  about 
twenty  minutes  of 
prodigious  noise, 
with  almost  no  dam- 
age done,  the  firing 
ceased  as  suddenly  as 
it  had  commenced, 
and  the  rest  of  the 
night  was  compara- 
tively quiet.  About 
10  A.  M.  a  fire  was 
started  outside  and 
adjoining  the  south 
stables,  which,  after 
heroic  exertions 
upon  the  part  of 
nearly  the  entire 
garrison  of  men, 
women,  and  coolies, 
all  of  whom  formed  into  line  and  passed  hun- 
dreds of  buckets  of  water  from  the  two  nearest 
wells  to  the  scene  of  the  fire,  was  subdued  with- 
out our   stables   catching   fire.     With   every  one 


PORTION   OF   china's   GREAT  WALL 
Showing    one  of  the  towers  or  forts, 
which    are  built  at  intervals  throughout 
its  entire   length. 


FIGHTING    ON    THE   WALL  91 

of  these  fires  that  was  successfully  put  out,  the 
danger  from  that  source  was  lessened. 

The  German  and  American  marines  took  pos- 
session of  the  city  wait  south  of  their  respective 
legations,  to  prevent  the  Chinese  from  bringing 
their  heavy  guns  too  near  and  too  directly  able 
to  bear  upon  the  legations.  Thrice  they  were 
driven  back  by  the  heavy  fire,  but  they  stuck  to 
their  task,  and  eventually  obtained  each  a  posi- 
tion on  the  wall  —  the  Germans  to  the  east,  the 
Americans  to  the  west,  the  two  positions  being 
about  six  hundred  yards  apart. 

The  second  time  they  advanced,  the  Americans 
took  the  Colt  machine  gun  with  them,  and,  ad- 
vancing almost  to  the  Chinese  barricade,  killed 
several  hundred  Chinese.  The  third  time,  the 
Americans  advanced  several  hundred  yards  and 
then  retreated  suddenly,  as  though  panic-stricken. 
This  brought  the  Chinese  out  from  behind  their 
barricades  with  a  rush,  when  the  Colt  gun  was 
again  turned  loose  on  them  and  killed  sixty 
more. 

After  this  the  shelling  got  so  hot  that  the  po- 
sition became  absolutely  untenable.  A  piece  of 
shell  struck  the  shoulder-piece  of  the  Colt  gun, 
and  another  shell,  striking  the  wall,  knocked 
down  the  bricks  so  thickly  around  the  gun  that 
Mitchell,  the  gunner,  thought  he  might  have  to 
abandon  it;  but,  hastily  taking  it  apart,   he  man- 


92  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

aged  to  get  it  down  the  ramp,  and  brought  it 
safely  into  the  British  legation. 

The  German  officers  claimed  to  have  seen 
rockets  to  the  southwest,  which  they  thought  to 
be  signals  from  the  relief  force.  Heavy  cannon- 
ading was  also  heard,  about  4  P.  M.,  outside  the 
city,  which  was  thought  to  come  from  the  troops, 
but  both  proved  false  hopes. 

Corporal  King,  United  States  Marine  Corps, 
was  killed  by  a  Chinese  sniper  in  the  Russo- 
Chinese  bank.  The  United  States  barracks  were 
set  on  fire,  but  fortunately  the  fire  did  not  spread 
to  the  legation.  Captain  Halliday,  Royal  Navy 
Marine  Corps,  was  severely  wounded  by  a  stray 
bullet.     Thirteen  men  are  in  the  hospital. 

June  25.  During  the  night  one  of  the  cap- 
tured Boxers  tried  to  escape,  so  in  the  morning 
they  were  both  shot.  There  was  about  twenty 
minutes  of  hot  firing  about  the  same  time  as 
last  night. 

At  5  P.  M.  the  Chinese  put  up  a  poster  on 
the  north  bridge  ordering  the  firing  to  stop,  and 
to  protect  the  ministers,  stating  also  that  they 
would  send  us  a  message.  This  message  was 
never  sent,  however,  and  though  the  firing  was 
stopped  for  a  few  hours,  it  soon  started  up  again, 
and  the  whole  thing  was  believed  to  be  a  fraud 
by  which  the  Chinese  wished  to  get  some  of  the 
foreigners  outside  the  legation  to  be  killed. 


OUR    FIRST   HORSE -STEAK 


93 


The  Americans 
and  Germans  again  ' 
took  their  positions 
on  the  wall,  and  be- 
gan building  barri- 
cades in  the  face  of 
the  Chinese  gun.  As 
the  mutton  began  to 
get  scarce,  the  first 
horse  was  killed.  It 
was  very  good  eating, 
and  I  doubt  not  that 
we  have  had  some  of 
that  kind  of  beef  be- 
fore, in  substitution 
for  the  genuine  arti- 
cle. Three  rockets, 
probably  Chinese, 
were  seen  during  the 
night. 

June  26.  The  night 
entertainment — "fire- 
works"—  came  at  3 
A.  M.,  instead  of  mid- 
night, as  usual.  Chi- 
nese troops  were  seen 
marching  northwest, 
supposedly  to  convey 
mer   palace.      By   this 


ENTRANCE  THROUGH  GREAT  WALL 
INTO  MONGOLIA — ROTATING  GATE 

This  great  wall  extends  in  massive 
proportions  over  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  of  plain  and  mountain.  It  was 
built  ages  ago  as  a  bar  against  the  in- 
cursions of  the  barbaric  and  warlike 
tribes,  who  were  destined  in  time,  de- 
spite this  tremendous  obstacle,  to  over- 
run and  acquire  the  kingdom  and  place 
their  own  rulers  upon  its  throne. 

the    Empress  to    the   sum- 
time    the    shells    from    the 


94  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

various  guns  close  by  us  began  to  come  nearer, 
several  exploding  in  the  compound.  "Bomb- 
proof" cellars  were  therefore  started  in  different 
parts  of  the  compound,  in  which  we  might  take 
refuge  if  the  shells  actually  began  to  do  dam- 
age. These  "bomb-proofs"  were  trenches  about 
six  feet  deep,  covered  with  a  roof  of  timbers, 
boards,  and  from  two  to  four  feet  of  earth  or 
sand- bags.  These  it  was  thought  would  furnish 
efficient  protection  against  fragments  of  shell. 
Sergeant  Fanning,  United  States  Marine  Corps, 
was  killed  by  a  sniper  on  the  city  wall. 

June  27.  Very  heavy  firing,  mostly  from  the 
imperial  city  wall.  A  crowd  of  greenhorn  Box- 
ers started  to  attack  the  Americans  on  the  wall 
from  below.  The  Americans  turned  the  Colt  on 
them,  killing  about  fifty,  and  the  rest  got  away. 

A  Chinaman  who  arrived  from  near  Tientsin 
reported  Boxers  very  thick  around  there,  and 
that  three  divisions  of  troops  had  left  Tientsin 
June  24  to  come  to  Peking,  one  coming  north, 
one  west,  and  one  east. 

June  28.     No  news  of  importance. 

June  29.  In  the  morning  there  was  an  attack 
made  by  the  Chinese  on  the  south  stables,  the 
weakest  part  of  the  whole  legation  compound. 
This  was  repulsed  after  a  short  fight,  and  about 
twenty  British  marines  under  Captain  Stroutswent 
out  after  the   Chinese,  killihg  a  large  number  of 


PERILS    OF    THE    NIGHT  95 

them,  and  capturing  their  rifles  with  about  six 
hundred  rounds  of  ammunition.  The  guns  were 
mostly  Mauser  rifles  and  carbines.  They  were 
distributed  among  the  unarmed  men  of  the  lega- 
tion. Captain  Strouts  was  grazed  in  the  neck  by 
a  bullet.  Later  fifty  volunteers,  under  Captain 
Wray,  went  out  to  capture  a  gun  near  the  Su 
Wang  Fu  that  was  making  things  unpleasant  for 
the  people  there.  They  could  not  find  it,  how- 
ever, and  had  to  return. 

By  this  time  nearly  all  the  Chinese  houses  near 
the  United  States  legation  had  been  burned  in 
the  various  attempts  to  fire  the  legation,  and  in 
the  ruins  of  these  houses  a  number  of  Chinese 
snipers  installed  themselves,  making  it  extremely 
dangerous  for  any  one  attempting  to  cross  Lega- 
tion street. 

June  30.  At  night  there  was  a  very  heavy  thun- 
derstorm, the  first  of  the  rainy  season.  Simul- 
taneously with  the  thunder,  the  Chinese  started  a 
terrific  fusillade  from  all  quarters.  The  hideous 
noise,  with  the  vivid  flashes  of  lightning  and  the 
torrents  of  rain,  produced  an  effect  on  the  minds 
of  all  who  witnessed  it  that  they  will  probably 
never  forget. 

July  I.  The  Americans  and  Germans  were 
forced  by  heavy  shell-fire  to  leave  the  wall.  Later 
in  the  day  the  Americans  returned,  but  the  Ger- 
mans did  not.    The  Chinese  were  quiet  at  night, 


96  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

there  being  hardly  any  firing  at  all.  The  reason 
for  this  was  supposed  to  be  temporary  shortness 
of  ammunition.  At  night  a  good  many  people 
believed  they  saw  flashes  from  an  electric  search- 
light, which  was  supposed  to  be  with  the  troops 
at  Tungchow.  They  claimed  to  have  seen  at  first 
forty  flashes,  then  an  interval,  followed  by  eight 
more.  This  they  supposed  to  be  some  kind  of  a 
signal  to  us,  but  since  it  has  all  turned  out  to  be 
heat  lightning.  Ed.  Wagner,  one  of  the  customs 
men,  was  struck  and  killed  in  the  French  legation 
by  a  shell. 

July  2.  It  rained  at  night,  and  no  flashlights  (?) 
were  seen. 

July  3.  The  Chinese  on  the  wall  had  built 
up  their  barricade  so  high  during  the  night  that 
it  almost  overlooked  our  own  (the  two  were  only 
forty  yards  apart),  and  had  they  been  able  to 
build  a  little  higher  they  might  easily  have  fired 
right  down  on  our  men,  so  that  it  became  a  ques- 
tion of  rushing  the  Chinese  barricade  or  of  leav- 
ing the  wall.  The  former  course  was  adopted. 
At  3  A.  M.,  fifteen  United  States  marines,  fifteen 
Russian  sailors,  and  twenty-five  British  marines, 
led  by  Captain  John  Myers,  in  the  blackest  part 
of  the  night,  crept  silently  over  the  American 
barricade,  and,  dividing  into  two  parties,  each 
keeping  close  to  either  side  of  the  wall  battle- 
ments, advanced   rapidly  right  up  to  the  face  of 


RUSHING    THE    BARRICADE  97 

the  Chinese  barricade  undiscovered.  Arrived 
here,  as  agreed,  they  gave  a  tremendous  yell,  and 
swarmed  over  and  around  the  barricade,  yelling 
and  firing  volleys  into  the  astonished  Celestials, 
who,  taken  entirely  by  surprise  by  the  yelling 
foreign  devils,  made  very  little  resistance,  and 
speedily  fled  to  their  second  line  of  defense, 
some  distance  westward  toward  the  Chien  Men. 
Before  starting.  Captain  Myers  had  briefly  ad- 
dressed his  men,  telling  them  the  vital  necessity 
of  capturing  the  barricade.  "Men,"  he  said,  "we 
must  take  that  place  at  all  costs  or  be  driven  oft 
the  wall!  Once  oflf  the  wall,  the  legations  will 
lie  at  the  mercy  of  the  Chinese,  and  we,  with 
all  the  women  and  children,  will  be  butchered. 
This  is  our  opportunity.  I  expect  every  man  to 
do  his  duty.  We  cannot  stop  to  pick  up  any 
who  may  be  wounded,  but  must  press  on  and 
accomplish  the  work,  leaving  the  wounded  until 
we  return.  If  I  fall,  Sergeant  Murphy  of  the 
British  marines  succeeds  to  command ;  if  he  falls 
Corporal  Hunt  of  the  American  marines  suc- 
ceeds him.  Now,  when  I  give  command,  spring 
over  the  barricade,  and  follow  me."  He  imme- 
diately gave  the  command:  "Come  on!"  The 
sortie  was  most  successful,  the  barricade  was 
gained  and  held,  but  we  lost  two  brave  Amer- 
ican boys.  Privates  Turner  and  Thomas.  Captain 
Myers  was    badly  wounded  by  a   spear-throst   in 


98  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

his  knee,  and  Corporal  Gregory  of  the  British 
marines  was  shot  in  the  foot. 

July  4.  Independence  day  in  America,  but  a 
day  of  red-hot  fireworks  for  us.  Chinese  butch- 
ers on  the  outside  trying  hard  to  get  in  and 
murder  us.  Only  celebration  by  Americans  was 
a  party  given  to  the  smaller  children  by  Mrs. 
Squiers. 

July  5.  Mr.  David  Oliphant,  one  of  the  Eng- 
lish legation  students,  was  shot  and  mortally 
wounded,  in  the  Hanlin  Yuan.  He  died  at  3, 
and  was  buried  in  our  little  graveyard  at  7  P.  M. 
His  death  threw  a  deep  gloom  over  the  whole 
legation,  as  he  was  a  general  favorite.  Three 
attacks  were  made  on  us  last  night  at  10  and  12, 
and  2.30  this  morning.  Cartridge  ammunition 
of  the  enemy  seems  to  be  running  low,  as  they 
are  firing  now  more  of  the  old  muzzle-loading 
Yingalls,  and  fewer  of  the  Mauser  cartridges. 

July  6.  A  sortie  was  made  by  the  Japanese  to 
try  and  capture  a  gun  that  was  making  havoc  on 
their  barricades  in  the  Su  Wang  Fu.  Too  many 
Chinese  houses,  however,  concealed  the  where- 
abouts of  the  gun,  and  after  having  three  men 
wounded  they  were  obliged  to  return  unsuccess- 
ful. A  shell  fell  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  Mr.  Con- 
ger's house,  doing  considerable  damage.  Mrs. 
Conger  had  been  in  the  room  only  a  short  time 
before. 


RUNNERS    TO    TIENTSIN 


99 


A  messenger  was  let  down  from  the  wall  with 
ropes,  to  try  and  communicate  our  desperate  sit- 
uation to  Tientsin.  He  was  offered  one  thousand 
taels  if  he  got  safely  through  the  enemy's  lines 
with  his  dispatches.  We  have  sent  numerous 
runners  out  by  the 
water-gate,  and  sev- 
eral over  the  wall, 
but  none  have  ever 
returned.  Doubtless 
they  have  been  cap- 
tured and  killed. 

During  the  day  a 
number  of  three-  and 
seven  -  pound     solid 

On  the  great  wall,   Kun  Ming  Hu 

iron    shot   have    been 

thrown  into  our  midst  by  guns  located  on  the  wall 
of  the  imperial,  or  yellow  city,  to  the  north  of  us. 
So  far,  beyond  knocking  a  few  holes  in  the  build- 
ings, they  have  done  no  harm.  The  powder 
they  are  using  must  be  very  inferior.  One  of 
the  missiles  passed  through  Lady  MacDonald's 
dining  room. 

July  7.  Two  attacks  were  made  on  the  French 
legation  and  were  repulsed,  the  Chinese  loss  being 
small,  as  they  retired  rapidly.  The  Austrian  com- 
mander. Captain  von  Thorneburg,  was  killed  in 
one  of  these  attacks,  being  shot  through  the  heart. 

We  are  now  really  eating  the  horse-meat.     A 


loo  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

number  of  people  who  were  using  it  assured  us  it 
was  very  good,  but  our  prejudices  prevailed  some 
time.  First  we  tried  the  liver,  fried  with  a  small 
scrap  of  bacon,  and  were  pleased  to  find  it  tasted 
just  like  beef-liver.  Then  we  tried  some  of  the 
meat  curried,  and  now  we  are  having  excellent 
sausages  of  the  meat,  which  helps  the  rice  to  be 
more  palatable.  We  are  allowed  one  pound  of 
horse-meat  per  adult  individual  each  day. 

When  the  Russians  came  up  the  first  time, 
they  brought  along  with  them  sixty  shells,  leav- 
ing the  gun  in  Tientsin  to  be  brought  up  by 
the  next  force  that  came.  As  no  other  could 
get  in,  the  ammunition  was  of  no  use.  It  was 
thought  that  if  some  kind  of  a  cannon  could  be 
made,  many  of  our  shells  might  be  utilized  in 
destroying  the  Chinese  barricades.  So  Mitchell, 
the  United  States  gunner,  started  to  work  on  two 
sections  of  a  fire-engine  pump.  Meanwhile,  two 
Chinese  coolies  found  an  old  cannon,  a  muzzle- 
loader  of  about  i860,  in  a  junkshop,  and  dragged 
it  in.  As  this  cannon  fitted  the  shells  it  was 
used  instead  of  the  pump.  It  was  mounted  on 
a  pair  of  wheels  taken  from  the  Italian  ammuni- 
tion truck.  It  has  been  nicknamed  the  "  Inter- 
national." The  gun  itself  was  an  old  British 
one,  mounted  on  an  Italian  carriage,  and  fired 
with  Russian  ammunition  by  an  American  gun- 
ner.    Hence  the  nickname. 


STILL    NO    RELIEF  loi 

The  ammunition  for  the  ItaHan  one-pound 
gun  having  run  short,  pewter  vessels  from  the 
Chinese  houses  around  were  brought  in,  melted, 
and  run  into  molds  to  make  the  shot  for  the 
gun.  With  these  the  used  cartridges  were  re- 
loaded, and,  there  being  no  primers  for  them, 
revolver  cartridges  were  readily  used  instead. 
When  tried  in  the  bore  they  worked  very  well, 
though  it  was  feared  that  the  harder  metal  of 
which  they  were  made  would  be  ruinous  to  the 
rifling  of  the  gun. 

The  Chinese  broke  two  holes  in  the  top  of 
the  imperial  city  wall  and  built  a  platform  just 
over  the  water-gate,  where  it  was  expected  they 
would  mount  guns  the  next  night.  At  lo  P.  M. 
they  started  a  fusillade,  which  lasted  for  a  few 
minutes,  but  the  rest  of  the  night  was  fairly  quiet. 

The  French  and  Austrians  claimed  to  have 
heard  cannonading  about  ten  kilometers  (six 
miles)  to  the  southeast.  But  this  has  also  proved 
a  false  hope,  and  the  general  opinion  is  now 
that  the  relief  has  not  started  from  Tientsin  at 
all,  though  why,  no  one  can  say. 

July  8.  Sunday.  The  Chinese  on  the  wall 
moved  up  their  arms  and  opened  fire  on  our 
barricade.  The  third  shot  they  fired  was  badly 
aimed  and  struck  their  own  barricade,  carrying 
most  of  it  away,  when  they  were  forced  to  re- 
treat  in   a  hurry.     There   was    a   fire    at  the    Su 


102  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Wang  Fu  of  the  main  pavilion  buildings,  but  it 
was  not  very  serious.  Two  shells  from  a  gun 
to  the  west  struck  the  wall,  and  one  the  top  of 
Mr.  Coburn's  house,  showing  that  the  Chinese 
are  getting  the  range.  The  evening  fusillade 
started  at  9:45  and  lasted  about  twenty  minutes. 

July  9.  In  the  morning  Mr.  Squiers  sent 
out  a  man  into  the  city  to  see  what  was  going 
on  there.  He  returned  in  the  afternoon  report- 
ing, first,  that  Hatamen  has  been  closed  for 
many  days;  second,  that  there  are  no  Chinese 
troops  in  the  southern  city;  third,  that  Rung 
Lu's  troops  are  guarding  the  Chihaumen,  but 
there  are  many  Kansu  men  on  the  Hatamen 
streets  and  in  the  imperial  city;  fourth,  that  at 
the  ssupailou  (four  arches)  the  shops  are  open 
and  doing  business  as  usual ;  fifth,  that  the  Em- 
peror and  Empress  Dowager  are  still  in  the 
city;  sixth,  that  the  Peking  "Gazette"  is  pub- 
lished daily.  The  day  was  quiet  except  for 
occasional   firing. 

July  10.  In  the  morning  several  of  the 
Chinese  shells  came  very  close,  breaking  right 
over  the  tennis  court,  and  making  it  unsafe  for 
any  one  to  cross. 

July  II.  A  messenger  sent  out  with  a  letter 
tried  to  get  through  the  water-gate,  but  was  im- 
mediately fired  on  by  the  Chinese  sentries  and 
forced  to  fly.     He  got  in  without  being  hurt. 


A   SEIZURE    Of    THEIR    FLAG 


103 


The  Chinese  were  extremely  quiet  all  night, 
but  the  cause  was  not  known  until  the  next 
morning,  when  it  was  discovered  that  they  had 
built  two  new  big  walls,  one  in  the  Hanlin 
Yuan,  and  another  in  the  imperial  carriage  park. 


1900   f'""  Month— SI  IHj»1 


Full  Mooili  9.28  piB. 


July  n»-"] 


12  THTTRSDAT-  [ii»-iri. 


(ChlneM  v[  Mooa] 


[vi  Moon,  ICth  I%iy] 


;U<^  ^/eM  0^^-  AyLX ,  ^Jt,^^.  >iiAA^  JmM^ 


13  FRIDAT  [104-111] 


(VI  Moon,  Klh  D'y] 


^^^^fcOZ^^.        ^mJUy    Ui^aZZ^     ^cUL    iu^   U^-^^^ 


Part  of  Author's  Diary 

July  12.  The  Chinese  kept  up  a  heavy  can- 
nonade all  day,  mostly  from  the  guns  on  the 
imperial  city  wall,  but  did  very  little  damage  to 
us.  A  flag,  white  ground  and  black  characters, 
was  captured  by  the  French  in  the  morning, 
and    in    the   afternoon    Mitchell    captured    a   big 


104  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

black  one  in  the  Hanlin  Yuan.  He  got  up  on 
a  Chinese  barrier  and  wrested  the  flag  from  a 
Chinese  soldier  by  pounding  him  with  sand- 
bags until  he  let  go,  while  five  or  six  volleys 
were  fired  at  him.  He  secured  the  flag  and 
got   down   without   a   scratch. 

July  13.  A  Chinese  prisoner  taken  by  the  French 
marines  this  morning  states  that  the  Emperor 
and  Empress  Dowager  are  still  in  the  palace  here. 
Prince  Tuan,  Jung  Lee  and  General  Tung  are  in 
control  of  public  affairs.  Prince  Ching  takes  no 
part  in  them.  Many  Boxers  are  still  in  the  city. 
Their  principal  patron  is  Prince  Tuan.  In  his 
palace  they  are  registered,  fed,  and  paid. 

These  Boxers  are  ridiculed  by  the  soldiers  be- 
cause they  dare  not  go  under  fire  at  the  front,  in 
spite  of  their  pretensions  to  be  bullet-proof. 

General  Tung's  troops  are  facing  us  on  the 
wall  and  along  our  lines  on  the  south.  Jung  Lu's 
troops  are  behind  the  French  legation.  Several 
of  them  are  killed  or  wounded  every  day.  The 
prisoner  declares  that  he  was  one  of  several  coolies 
(hired  at  twenty-five  cents  a  body)  to  carry  off 
and  bury  the  dead.  There  are  about  three  thou- 
sand of  Tung  Fu  Hsinang's  troops  in  the  city. 

The  Empress  has  forbidden  the  use  of  guns 
of  large  caliber  against  us,  because  of  the  harm 
they  might  do  to  her  loyal  people  and  their 
houses. 


BELEAGUERMENT   TO   STARVATION  !        105 

Direct  attack  having  failed,  and  our  rifles  being 
better  than  theirs,  it  has  been  decided  to  starve  us 
out.  Two  weeks  ago  news  came  that  foreign 
troops  from  one  hundred  warships  at  Taku  had 
captured  the  Taku  forts,  and  occupied  "East 
Taku,"  opposite  Tangku  railway  station.  Tien- 
tsin city  was  in  a  panic  on  this  account. 

Ammunition  is  being  brought  here  from  the 
Hunting  park.  Imperial  edicts  are  issued  as  usual. 
Business  is  going  on  in  the  north  part  of  the  city, 
and  market  supplies  are  coming  in.  The  four 
"chief  banks"  are  closed.  The  soldiers  believe 
that  we  have  several  thousand  troops  under  arms 
here.  The  prisoner  thought  we  had  at  least  two 
thousand. 

Of  course,  this  information  is  not  official,  and 
there  may  be  much  that  is  not  strictly  accurate. 
It  simply  represents  the  gossip  of  the  tea-shops 
and  restaurants. 

One  reason  the  Chinese  have  for  thinking  we 
have  so  many  men  here  is  that  a  number  of  them 
are  killed  by  their  own  bullets,  which  are  aimed 
high  and  pass  over  our  heads  and  drop  among 
their  own  people.  This  shooting  they  attribute 
to  our  men,  and  so  think  we  have  a  large  force 
here. 

Same  date,  6.30  P.  M.  The  Chinese  exploded 
a  mine  under  the  French  legation  wall,  destroy- 
ing part  of  the  wall  and  also  part  of  their  own 


io6  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

fortifications.  Four  men  were  buried  by  the  first 
explosion,  one  of  whom  was  dug  out,  and  another 
blown  up  again  by  a  second  explosion.  Having 
done  this,  the  Chinese  made  a  desperate  assault, 


VIEW   IN    LEGATION   STREET 

The  entrance  to  French  legation  is  on  the  left.  The  lions 
shown  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  are  such  as  can  be  found 
nowhere  outside  of  China.  The  street  is  in  somewhat  better  con- 
dition, since  it  is  presumably  under  foreign  control,  or  at  least  is 
modified  by  foreign  influences. 

but  were  beaten  off  after  having  killed  three  and 
wounded  three  French  marines  and  lost  about 
twenty  of  their  number. 

The  minister's  and  first  secretary's  houses  were 
fired,  the  minister  destroying  all  his  official  papers 


CHINESE   ALMOST   UPON    US  107 

himself,  to  prevent  their  falHng  into  the  hands  of 
the  Chinese. 

Simultaneously  with  this  attack  came  a  tre- 
mendous fusillade  from  all  sides,  which  lasted 
forty-five  minutes,  by  far  the  longest  we  have 
had  yet. 

The  Su  Wang  Fu  was  the  scene  of  the  hottest 
firing,  and  once  it  was  thought  it  would  have  to 
be  given  up. 

At  the  same  time  a  body  of  Chinese,  number- 
ing about  two  hundred,  charged  down  the  wall 
street  and  got  past  the  German  legation  without 
being  stopped.  When  they  got  to  the  bridge, 
one  of  the  United  States  marines  was  just  com- 
ing down  from  the  wall  and  saw  them  as  they 
were  coming  up  over  the  bridge.  He  gave  the 
alarm  to  four  men  stationed  in  the  barricade  on 
the  street,  who  fired  about  a  dozen  volleys  on 
them,  killing  thirty  of  them.  The  natives  then 
turned  and  fled ;  on  the  way  back  the  Germans 
fired  on  them,  driving  them  into  the  club  tennis 
courts,  where  they  killed  eighteen  more.  The 
officer  in  command  of  the  Chinese  was  shot  by 
E.  von  Strauch,  captain  of  the  customs  volun- 
teers. In  the  fray  two  Germans  were  seriously, 
and  two  slightly,  wounded.  The  Chinese  kept 
up  a  desultory  firing  all  night. 

July  14.     A  large  supply  of  wheat  was  brought 
over  to  the   British  legation    from    a   grain  store 


io8  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

near  the  south  bridge,  and  distributed  in  several 
storerooms  throughout  the  compound.  This  was 
done  as  there  had  been  some  burning  near  there, 
and  it  was  feared  it  would  be  destroyed.  A  mes- 
senger sent  out  by  Mr.  Tewksbury  on  the  loth 
instant  returned,  bringing  a  message  supposed 
to  have  been  written  by  Prince  Ching.  It  was 
soon  known  to  be  an  invitation  to  leave  the 
legations  and  go  to  the  tsung-li-yamen  for  pro- 
tection, though  the  full  translation  was  not  put 
upon  the  bulletin  board  till  the  next  day. 

July  15.  The  following  bulletin  was  posted 
at  I  P.  M. : 

A  messenger  sent  out  on  July  10  by  Mr.  Tewksbury, 
with  a  letter  for  the  troops,  returned  yesterday.  He  is  the 
gate-keeper  at  the  Nan  Vang  (south  cathedral)  and  a  Roman 
Catholic.  He  says  he  was  arrested  outside  the  Hatamen  and 
taken  to  the  Wofursu  (temple?),  his  letter  was  taken  from 
him,  and  he  was  beaten  with  eighty  blows.  He  was  then 
taken  to  Jung  Lu's  headquarters  in  the  imperial  city.  Here 
he  found  a  man  named  Yu  who  formerly  knew  him  as  gate- 
keeper. He  was  there  given  a  letter,  purporting  to  be  written 
by  Prince  Ching  and  others,  addressed  to  the  British  minister, 
and  told  that  men  would  wait  at  the  water-gate  to-night  for 
an  answer.     A  translation  of  the  letter  is  annexed : 

"For  the  last  ten  days  the  soldiers  and  militia  have  been 
fighting,  and  there  has  been  no  communication  between  us, 
to  our  great  anxiety.  Some  time  ago  we  hung  up  a  board 
(referring    to    June    25)    expressing    our    intentions,    but    no 


INVITATION    TO    TSUNG  -  LI  -  YAMEN     ,109 

answer  has  been  received,  and,  contrary  to  expectation,  the 
foreign  soldiers  made  renewed  attacks,  causing  alarm  and 
suspicion   among  people   and  soldiers. 

"Yesterday  the  troops  captured  a  convert  named  Chin 
Ssu  Hai,  and  learned  from  him  that  the  foreign  ministers 
were  all  well,  which  caused  us  great  satisfaction.  But  it  ig 
the  unexpected  that  happens  —  the  reinforcements  of  foreign 
troops  were  ever  so  long  ago  stopped  and  turned  back  by 
the  Boxers,  and  if,  in  accordance  with  the  previous  agree- 
ment, we  were  to  guard  your  excellencies  out  of  the  city, 
there  are  so  many  Boxers  on  the  Tientsin -Taku  road  that 
we  should    be  very  apprehensive   of   misadventure. 

"We  now  request  your  excellencies  to  first  take  your  families 
and  the  various  members  of  your  staflf,  and  leave  your  legations 
in  detachments.  You  should  select  trustworthy  officers  to  give 
close  and  strict  protection,  and  you  should  temporarily  reside 
in  the.  tsung-Ii-yamen,  pending  future  arrangements  for  your 
return  home  in  order  to  preserve  friendly  relations  intact  from 
beginning  to  end.  But  at  the  time  of  leaving  the  legations 
there  must  on  no  account  whatever  be  any  single  armed  foreign 
soldier,  in  order  to  prevent  doubt  and  fear  on  the  part  of  the 
troops  and  people,  leading  to  untoward  incidents. 

"If  your  excellency  is  willing  to  show  this  confidence,  we  beg 
you  to  communicate  with  all  the  foreign  ministers  in  Peking, 
to-morrow  at  noon  being  the  limit  of  time,  and  to  let  the  origi- 
nal messenger  deliver  your  reply,  in  order  that  we  may  settle  in 
advance  the  day  for  leaving  the  legations.  This  is  the  single 
way  of  preserving  relations  that  we  have  been  able  to  devise  in 
the  face  of  innumerable  difficulties.  If  no  reply  is  received  by 
the  hour  fixed,  even  our  afifection  will  not  enable  us  to  help  you. 
Compliments. 

PRINCE   CHING  AND  OTHERS." 

"6th  moon,  i8th  day  [July  13,  1900]." 


no  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

A  reply  has  been  sent  to-day  declining,  on  the  part  of  the 
foreign  representatives,  the  invitation  to  proceed  to  the  tsung- 
li-yamen,  and  pointing  out  that  no  attacks  have  been  made  by 
our  troops,  who  are  only  defending  the  lives  and  property  of 
foreigners  against  the  attacks  of  Chinese  government  troops. 
The  reply  concludes  with  a  statement  that  if  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment wishes  to  negotiate,  they  should  send  a  responsible 
official  with  a  white  flag. 

CLAUDE   M.  MacDONALD. 

This  message  is  thought  by  every  one  to  be  a 
rank  fraud.  It  is  supposed  to  come  not  from 
Prince  Ching,  but  from  the  leader  of  the  Kansu 
troops,  and  is  probably  intended  to  lure  some  of 
the  foreigners  outside  the  legation  and  then  to 
shoot  them. 

Same  date,  3  P.  M.  Twenty  Russians  and 
four  Americans  made  an  attack  on  a  house  to 
the  west  of  the  Russian  legation,  where  there 
were  about  sixty  Chinese  snipers.  On  arriving 
at  the  wall  they  found  there  was  no  way  to  get 
into  the  yard.  So  each  man  took  a  brick,  and, 
at  a  given  signal,  heaved  them  all  together  into 
the  yard,  shouting  and  reviling  the  Chinamen. 

Alarmed  by  this  they  fled,  and  the  men  took 
the  building  without  a  shot  being  fired  on  either 
side.  At  this  time  the  Chinese  at  other  points 
started  up  a  brisk  fire,  lasting  about  ten  minutes. 

July  16,  7  A.  \l:  While  on  a  tour  of  inspec- 
tion  in  the  Su  Wang  Fu,  in   company  with  Dr. 


MORE    LOSSES  iii 

Morrison  and  Colonel  Shiba,  Captain  B.  M. 
Strouts,  R.  M.  L.  I.,  was  shot  and  mortally 
wounded  by  a  sniper.  Dr.  Morrison  was  shot 
in  the  leg,  though  not  seriously.  Captain  Strouts 
died  at  ii  A.  M.  and  was  buried  at  6  P.  M.  yes- 
terday. One  of  the  United  States  marines, 
Private  Fisher,  was  killed  the  same  day. 

It  is  indeed  a  pitiable  plight  that  we  are  in 
now.  Neither  the  Americans  nor  the  British 
have  any  leader.  Captain  Meyers  is  disabled  by 
the  spear  wound  he  received  in  the  sortie  of 
July  3.  Captain  Strouts  is  dead;  Captain  Halli- 
day,  the  only  other  able  British  captain,  is  crip- 
pled by  a  wound  received  three  weeks  ago.  Sir 
Claude  MacDonald,  though  he  assumes  charge, 
is  no  man  for  the  situation,  and  the  French  and 
Germans  deny  his  authority. 

Same  date,  5  P.  M.  The  messenger  sent  yes- 
terday returned  with  four  others,  who  waited 
for  him  at  the  bridge.  He  brought  a  letter 
from  Jung  Lu  to  Sir  Claude  MacDonald,  and  a 
telegram  from  Washington  to  Mr.  Conger.  The 
letter  to  Sir  Claude  contained  nothing  of  any 
importance.  The  telegram,  Mr.  Conger  recog- 
nized as  being  in  the  State  Department  cipher, 
but  could  not  determine  its  meaning,  as  it  had 
evidently  been  tampered  with  in  some  way  by  the 
Chinese.  So  the  messenger  was  sent  back  with 
a  request  that  the  full  original  telegram  be  sent. 


112 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


July  17.  The  mes- 
senger returned  again 
bringing  a  telegram 
from  Wu  Ting  Fang, 
the  Chinese  minister  at 
Washington,  enclosing 
one  from  the  Secretary 
of  State.  This  read: 
"  Communicate  tidings 
to  bearer."  To  this  the 
minister  sent  in  reply: 
"One  month  in  the  Brit- 
ish legation  under  shot 
and  shell.  Will  all  be 
massacred  unless  help 
comes  soon." 

One  of  Jung  Lu  's 
soldiers  came  in  the 
morning  and  gave  him- 
self up  at  the  German 
legation,  and  asked  for 
some  medicine  for  a 
wound  in  the  ear.  He 
said  that  Jung  Lu  had 
ordered  the  soldiers  to 
stop  firing,  but  to  hold  their  positions,  and  that 
he  was  very  desirous  that  the  foreigners  should 
be  protected. 

Not  a  shot  has  been  fired  since  early  morning. 


GENERAL   SUNG   CHING 
Commander-in-Chief,  who  fought 
the  battle  of   Tientsin    against  the 
allied  international  armies. 


GIFTS    OF    FRUIT 


113 


This  is  probably  due 
to  a  fear  that  the 
foreign  troops  are 
near,  and  the  gov- 
ernment wishes  to 
protect  itself  by  say- 
ing they  were  un- 
able to  control  the 
Boxers  and  the 
Kansu  soldiers.  Sev- 
eral other  Chinese 
soldiers  gave  them- 
selves up  as  prison- 
ers at  the  different 
legations,  though 
with  what  purpose 
no  one  can  say. 

July  18.  As  Jung 
Lu  had  expressed  a 
willingness  to  assist 
the  foreigners,  a 
messenger   was    sent  ^^^^^^^  ^^  yu  kun 

to      him       requesting  Major-General  under  SungChing;  also 

that   supplies  of   fresh       ^''S^S^^   in  the   battle  of  Tientsin  with 

the  allied  international  armies. 

vegetables,    eggs, 

meat,  etc.,  might  be  sent  to  the  legation  for  the 
women  and  children.  This  was  promised,  and 
watermelons  and  peaches  have  already  been  sent 
to  the  Japanese  in  the   Su  Wang  Fu  and  to  the 


114  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Americans  on  the  wall.  The  soldiers  on  the 
wall  go  on  each  other's  barriers  and  chat  in  the 
most  friendly  manner.  There  are  great  num- 
bers of  Boxers  in  the  city,  especially  in  the 
south  city,  but  the  troops  are  no  longer  in 
league  with  these. 

A  messenger  sent  out  by  the  Japanese  minister 
on  the  30th  ult.  returned  to-day  from  Tientsin, 
bringing  word  that  a  mixed  force  of  33,300  would 
start  from  there  for  the  relief  of  Peking  about 
the  20th  inst.  The  force  is  to  consist  of  24,000 
Japanese,  4,000  Russian,  2,000  British,  1,500  Amer- 
ican, 1,500  French,  and  300  German  troops. 

He  reports  that  he  left  by  the  Ch'ihuamen 
(east  gate)  on  June  30,  proceeding  to  Tientsin  by 
boat.  He  arrived  at  Tientsin  on  July  5,  but  was 
unable  to  enter  the  city,  as  it  was  surrounded  by 
Chinese  troops.  He  walked  round  the  city  gates, 
and  found  a  force  of  Chinese,  under  General 
Chang,  posted  north  of  the  railway  station,  can- 
nonading a  force  of  Japanese  holding  the  ground 
south  of  the  station. 

On  July  9  General  Chang  was  defeated,  and  he 
(the  messenger)  managed  to  get  through  the 
Japanese  lines  on  July  12,  and  delivered  the  Japa- 
nese minister's  letter  to  the  Japanese  consul. 

While  in  Tientsin  he  gleaned  the  following 
news :  That  General  Nieh  was  dead,  that  all  the 
missionaries  in  Tientsin  and  outlying  stations  had 


NEWS    FROM    THE    OUTER    WORLD 


115 


left  for  home,  and  that  the  Taku  forts  were  taken 
without  difficulty  by  the  foreigners  on  June  17. 
On  July  14  the  foreign  troops  took  the  native  city 
of  Tientsin,  after  a  two  days'  attack.     On  July  15 


GORDON    HALL 

In  the  cellar  of  this  building  all  the  women  and  children  re- 
mained during  the  shelling  of  Tientsin  by  the  Chinese  troops.  It 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  attractive  buildings  in  Tientsin, 
and  in  strange  contrast  with  its  Chinese  surroundings. 

the  messenger  left  Tientsin  for  Peking,  being 
escorted  by  the  Japanese  to  the  "second  bridge." 
He  returned  to  Peking  by  road. 

Among  other  things  he  mentioned  was  that  the 
Tunchou  taotai  had  been  lodged  in  the  board  of 
punishments,  and  that  prior  to  his  own  arrival  in 


ii6  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Tientsin.  No  news  of  Peking  had  reached  that 
place  since  about  the  end  of  June. 

We  look  for  the  troops  about  the  30th  inst.,  if 
they  have  no  fighting  to  do  on  the  way.  This  ex- 
plains why  the  government  is  so  anxious  to  have 
peace  in  the  capital  at  present.  They  are  awaiting 
the  issue  of  a  contest  between  the  relief  force  and 
the  Chinese  troops  between  here  and  Tientsin. 

If  our  troops  are  victorious,  as  of  course  they 
will  be,  unless  outnumbered  overwhelmingly,  the 
government  will  say  they  have  done  all  in  their 
power  to  stop  the  fighting,  but  have  not  been  able 
to  control  their  troops  until  now.  If  our  troops 
are  defeated  they  will  turn  on  us  and  slaughter  us. 
In  the  meantime  we  have  a  resting  spell  of  a  few 
days. 

Bulletin  :  Precis  of  further  correspondence 
between  the  British  minister  and  "Prince  Ching 
and  others." 

On  July  16  the  Chinese  sent  a  reply  to  Sir 
Claude's  letter  of  the  15th,  in  which  they  explain 
that  the  reason  for  suggesting  the  removal  of  the 
legation  staffs  to  the  tsung-li-yamen  was  that  the 
Chinese  government  could  afford  more  efficient 
protection  to  them  if  concentrated  there  than  if 
scattered,  as  at  present.  As  the  foreign  minis- 
ters, however,  do  not  agree,  the  Chinese  will,  as 
in  duty  bound,  do   their   utmost   to   protect   the 


EFFORTS   TO    LURE    US    OUT  117 

legations  where  they  are.  They  will  bring  re- 
inforcements, and  continue  their  efforts  to  pre- 
vent the  Boxers  from  firing,  and  they  trust  the 
foreign  ministers  on  their  part  will  restrain  their 
troops  also  from  firing. 

July  17,  A.  M.  Sir  Claude  replied  to  the  effect 
that  the  foreign  troops  had  all  along  acted  en- 
tirely in  self-defense  and  would  continue  to  do 
so.  But  the  Chinese  must  understand  that  pre- 
vious events  had  led  to  a  want  of  confidence, 
and  that  if  barricades  were  erected  or  troops 
moved  in  the  vicinity  of  the  legations,  the 
foreign  guards  would  be  obliged  to  fire  on 
them. 

July  17  P.  M.  The  Chinese  replied,  reviewing 
the  situation  and  ascribing  the  present  hostilities 
to  the  attacks  previously  made  by  the  legation 
guards.  They  noted  with  satisfaction  that  a  ces- 
sation of  firing  is  agreed  to  on  both  sides,  but 
suggest  that  as  foreign  soldiers  here  have  been 
firing  from  the  city  wall  east  of  the  Chien  Men, 
they  should  be  removed  from  that  position. 

July  18  (noon).  Sir  Claude  replied  with  a 
review  of  the  situation  from  the  foreign  point 
of  view.  On  June  19  the  yamen  had  given  the 
legations  notice  to  quit  Peking,  and  the  foreign 
representatives  had  replied,  pointing  out  that 
there  were  no  facilities  of  transportation.  The 
yamen    had    then    replied,    extending    the    time ; 


ii8 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


but,  in  spite  of  this,  fire  was  opened  on  the 
legations  on  the  following  day,  and  they  had  been 
under  constant  fire 
from  Chinese  gov- 
ernment troops  ever 
since,  a  condition  of 
things  unparalleled  in 
the  world's  history. 
He  alluded  to  the  in- 
cident of  the  board 
displayed  on  June  25, 
the  free  moving  of 
troops  during  the  ces- 
s  at  ion  of  hostilities 
thus  caused,  and  the 
renewed  attacks  made 
after  the  completion 
of  the  preparations 
thus  facilitated.  He 
hoped  that  mutual 
confidence  would 
gradually  be  restored, 
but  meanwhile  he 
again  pointed  out  that 
cessation  of  hostile 
preparations,  as  well 
as  of  actual  firing,  was  necessary  on  the  part 
of  the  Chinese  forces  to  secure  that  the  foreign 
troops  should  cease  shooting.     As  for  the  sugges- 


STREET  VENDERS  OF  TIENTSIN 
A  vast  amount  of  business  is  trans- 
acted by  these  merchants,  whose  stock 
in  trade  is  of  the  smallest,  and  whose 
transactions  are  so  insignificant  as  to  be 
incredible  according  to  western  ideas. 


A   YAMEN    SECRETARY    COMES   IN 


119 


tion  that  the  foreign  troops  should  leave  the  city 
wall,  it  was    impossible  to  accede  to  it,  because 

a  great  part  of  the 
attacks  on  the  lega- 
tion had  been  made 
from  the  wall.  He 
concluded  by  sug- 
gesting that  sellers  of 
fruit  or  ice  should  be 
allowed  to  come  in. 

In  a  letter  ad- 
dressed the  same  day 
to  Jung  Lu,  the  sub- 
stance of  Sir  Claude's 
previous  letters  was 
repeated,  and  a  sug- 
gestion was  made 
that  communications 
would  be  facilitated 
if  a  responsible  offi- 
cial were  sent  to  the 
legation.  In  response 
to  this  suggestion,  a 
yamen  secretary  arrived  this  afternoon  with  a  card 
from  Jung  Lu.  He  had  no  special  message,  but 
promised  to  see  whether  Peking  "Gazettes"  could 
be  procured  and  a  market  established  for  ice, 
fruit,  eggs,  etc.,  and  also  to  ascertain  whether 
telegrams   could  be  transmitted  on  behalf  of  the 


Scepe  at  a  street  corner  in  Tientsin 


120  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

foreign  ministers  to  their  governments.  He 
mentioned  that  telegraphic  communication  was 
interrupted.  He  expressed  the  concern  of  the 
Chinese  government  at  the  deeds  of  the  Boxers, 
who  had  caused  the  whole  difficulty  between 
China  and  the  foreign  powers. 

July  19.  A  very  quiet  day.  No  firing  on 
either  side.  About  two  hundred  and  fifty  eggs 
and  a  few  vegetables  were  brought  in  by  Chinese 
soldiers  for  sale.  The  yamen  sent  another  mes- 
sage asking  that  the  ministers  leave  here  for 
Tientsin. 

July  20.  Several  copies  of  the  Peking  ''Ga- 
zette" of  the  past  month  were  procured  from 
the  Chinese.  Translations  of  a  number  of  edicts 
contained  therein  are  given  in  another  chapter. 
The  ministers  replied  to  the  yamen's  request  of 
yesterday,  saying  that,  as  the  Boxers  were  so 
numerous  outside  the  city,  they  would  not  dare 
to  trust  themselves  on  the  road.  Four  cart-loads 
of  watermelons  and  vegetables  were  sent  to  the 
ministers  by  the  yamen  as  a  sign  of  good  feel- 
ing (?).  No  firing  all  day,  except  for  a  few 
shots  fired  by  Boxers  in  the  south  city  against 
our  men  on  the  wall. 

July  24.  Mr.  Narahara,  second  secretary  of 
the  Japanese  legation,  died  in  the  early  morn- 
ing, of  lockjaw  from  a  wound. 


ALLIES   REPORTED   HALF-WAY   TO   US       121 

Same  date,  7  P.  M.  The  following  was  re- 
ceived from  Colonel  Shiba:  "A  Chinaman  who 
came  to  our  barricade  this  afternoon  says  that 
on  the  17th  of  this  month  Yangtsun  was  occu- 
pied by  the  foreign  troops,  and  on  the  19th  a 
battle  took  place  around  the  same  place.  About 
one  hundred  and  fifty  wounded  of  Tung  Fu 
Hsiang's  troops  have  just  been  brought  to 
Peking;  the  foreign  troops  were  about  forty  li 
this  side  of  Yangtsun  when  the  wounded  men 
started." 

July  26.  Colonel  Shiba  reports:  "A  China- 
man states  that  about  11  o'clock  on  the  24th 
instant  the  Chinese  troops  under  General  Chang 
were  attacked  by  foreign  troops  thirty  li  south 
of  Hoshiwu  (half-way  between  Tientsin  and  here 
by  road)  and  driven  back  at  midnight  to  the 
latter  place.  At  10  A.  M.  yesterday  Hoshiwu 
was  attacked,  and  the  Chinese  troops  driven 
back  with  heavy  loss  to  ten  li  north  of  the  latter 
place.  The  force  of  4,800  men  who  came  from 
the  west  with  nine  guns  left  Peking  at  6  o'clock 
yesterday  morning  for  Hoshiwu." 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  truce,  on  July 
18,  the  soldiers  of  Jung  Lu  have  observed  the 
truce  and  refrained  from  firing  ;  but  those  front- 
ing us  on  the  north  wall  and  on  the  west  of  the 
legation  have  started  sniping  again.  The  latter 
are  Tung  Fu  Hsiang's  troops. 


122  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

July  25.  Chin  Tsu-hsi,  a  messenger  who  left 
our  lines  eight  days  ago  carrying  an  official 
letter  to  Jung  Lu,  returned  to-day.  He  says 
that  he  delivered  the  letter  at  Jung  Lu's  head- 
quarters, and  was  locked  up  there  seven  days. 
Jung  Lu  goes  to  court  every  day.  The  Emperor 
and  Empress  Dowager  are  still  in  the  city. 
Boxers  patrol  the  streets  in  small  bands. 

Four  days  ago  a  ragged,  dirty  foreigner,  hat- 
less  and  coatless,  of  general  disreputable  appear- 
ance, was  captured  by  Tung  Fu  Hsiang's  men 
and  brought  to  Jung  Lu.  He  was  of  medium 
height,  blonde  mustache  and  beard,  and  spoke 
Chinese.  (This  referred  to  a  Swede  named 
Nestergaard,  who,  on  some  slight  oflfense,  left 
the  legation  and  went  over  to  the  Chinese.) 
He  said  he  went  out  to  find  food.  Meanwhile 
Boxers  assembled  around  Jung  Lu's  house,  and 
demanded  the  foreigner,  but  Jung  Lu  sent  him 
off  under  guard  to  the  yamen  of  the  Shun  Tien 
Fu  for  safe  keeping. 

A  messenger  sent  out  on  July  4  to  go  to 
Tientsin  with  our  letter  returned  to-day,  bring- 
ing the  following  note  from  the  British  consul 
at  Tientsin  : 

Your  letter  of  July  4  received.  There  are  now  24,000 
troops  landed  and  10,000  here.  General  Gaselee  expected  at 
Taku  to-morrow.  Russian  troops  are  at  Peitsang.  Tientsin 
city  is  under  foreign    government,   and    Boxer    power    here    is 


A    BITTER    DISAPPOINTMENT  123 

exploded.  There  are  plenty  of  troops  on  the  way  if  you 
can  keep  yourselves  in  food.  Almost  all  ladies  have  left 
Tientsin. 

(Signed)  W.  R.  CARLES. 

Dated  July  22. 

(The  letter  of  July  4  gave  details  of  the  siege 
up  to  that  date,  numbers  of  killed  and  wounded, 
and  stated  that  Chinese  troops  had  fired  into  the 
legation  quarter  continuously  since  June  20,  and 
that  we  were  hard  pressed.) 

This  answer  of  the  British  consul  aroused  great 
indignation  among  all  the  besieged.  It  had  been 
impossible  up  to  that  time  to  get  any  word  from 
the  outside  world,  though  many  messengers  were 
sent  out,  and  then  when  one  did  succeed  in  get- 
ting through  the  Chinese  lines,  to  receive  a  letter 
(and  that  from  an  official,  too)  which  gave  no 
information  of  any  attempt  to  relieve  us  ! 

Following  is  the  story  of  the  runner's  trip 
to  Tientsin  and  back:  Lin  Wu  Yuan,  sixteen 
years  old,  a  messenger,  native  of  Shantung,  liv- 
ing in  Peking,  arrived  this  morning,  from  Tien- 
tsin. He  left  Peking  with  letters  on  the  night  of 
July  4,  disguised  as  a  beggar.  He  was  let  down 
over  the  wall  by  a  rope,  crept  along  the  moat  to 
the  Chien  Men,  slept  under  the  gate,  and  in  the 
morning  walked  to  the  Yungting  Men,  passed 
through,  and  went  to  Machiapu  station  without 
being  molested. 


124  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Hearing  nothing  there,  he  went  to  Tungchow 
and  worked  his  way  along  the  main  road  to 
Tientsin.  At  a  village  near  Hoshiwu  he  was 
stopped  by  the  villagers  and  made  to  work  eight 
days.  He  reached  Tientsin  July  i8,  first  met 
Russian,  then  Japanese,  and  on  July  21  met 
the  British  troops  at  Peiving  Men,  the  entrance 
through  the  defense  wall,  half  a  mile  from 
Tientsin  city,  on  the  Peking  road. 

He  delivered  his  letter?  to  a  foreigner  in  citi- 
zen, dress,  who  spoke  Chinese.  On  July  22  he 
was  taken  to  the  British  consulate;  there  the 
consul  gave  him  a  letter.  He  was  then  sent  to 
the  foreign  outpost  at  Hungchian  (Red  Bridge 
over  the  Paotingfu  river,  a  half  mile  west  of 
Tientsin   city) . 

On  July  23  he  left  Hungch'iao,  and  soon  met 
the  Chinese  troops.  That  night  he  slept  at 
Yangtsun  in  a  locomotive  boiler  near  the  bridge. 
The  bridge  there  was  not  destroyed.  That  day 
he  saw  only  Chinese  infantry,  the  main  body  of 
which  was  at  Peitsang;  he  saw  no  Boxers.  The 
night  of  July  24  he  slept  near  Hoshiwu;  saw 
few  soldiers  and  no  Boxers.  The  night  of  July 
25  he  slept  at  Mat'ou.  That  day  he  saw  a  few 
parties  of  Boxers  in  villages,  but  none  on  the 
road. 

At  Mat'ou  and  elsewhere  he  saw  that  the  river 
was  in   high   flood ;    few  boats  moving,  but  many 


HATAMEN    GATE 


125 


APPROACH  TO  HATAMEN  GATE  IN  WALL  DESTROYED 
BY  THE  RUSSIANS 
Elsewhere  in  this  work  is  presented  a  view  of  the  top  of  this 
wall,  indicating  its  great  width.  The  view  above  shows  its  height 
and  form.  To  the  left  is  the  encircling  canal,  with  its  stagnant 
water  and  accumulations  of  filth;  under  a  corner  of  the  wall  near 
the  bend  of  the  canal  may  be  seen  a  caravan.  A  block  house  or 
fortification  is  shown  on  top  of  the  wall.  At  the  right  the  larger 
building  upon  the  top  of  the  wall  indicates  where  one  of  the  city 
gates  is  placed.  The  foundation  of  the  wall  is  of  great  blocks  of 
hewn  stone,  above  which  are  tiers  of  sun-dried  brick. 


moored  to  the  banks.  On  July  26  had  no  ad- 
ventures;  he  spent  the  night  at  Yuchiawei, 
twenty  \i  from  Peking. 

On  July  27  he  reached  the  Sha  Kuo  gate,  the 
east  gate  of  the  south  city,  at  10  A.  M.     He  found 


126  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

the  roads  good ;  telegraph  poles  and  wire  along 
the  river  all  gone;  railway  torn  up  everywhere, 
rails  buried,  or  used  for  making  Boxer  swords. 

He  was  not  stopped  at  the  gate,  though  there 
were  many  Boxers  and  Tung  Fu  Hsiang's  men 
there.  He  made  his  way  without  trouble  to  the 
Hatamen,  which  he  found  closed,  and  to  the 
water-gate,  which  was  too  closely  guarded  to  pass 
by  day.  The  man  slept  last  night  near  the  Chien 
Men,  crawled  along  the  moat,  and  entered  the 
water-gate  without  challenge  before  daylight  this 
morning. 

He  said  the  high  road  to  Tientsin  is  in  good 
condition.  Crops  everywhere  look  well.  Vil- 
lagers are  attending  to  their  farms,  but  there  is 
a  Boxer  organization  in  every  village.  When  he 
left  Tientsin,  the  foreign  troops  had  not  advanced 
beyond  the  defense  wall,  San  Ko  Hin  Sin's 
"Folly,"  built  by  that  general  against  the  British 
and  French  in  i860  but  never  defended  (hence 
the  name  "folly")  surrounding  Tientsin  city  at 
a  distance  of  one-half  to  one  mile.  All  the  yamens 
in  Tientsin  are  occupied  by  foreign  troops,  chiefly 
Japanese.  All  Boxers  have  left  the  front  at  Tien- 
tsin because  badly  punished  in  the  battle,  so  the 
Chinese  soldiers  despise  them.  Chinese  army  was 
concentrating  on  Peitsang,  eight  miles  northwest 
of  Tientsin.  The  messenger  had  a  dollar  in  his 
pocket  when  he  met  the  foreign  pickets  at  Tien- 


WAR   AND    RUMOR    OF    WAR  127 

tsin,  and  they  relieved  him  of  it,  "lest  he  might 
lose  it"  ! 

Colonel  Shiba's  informant  gives  the  following 
dates  of  battles: 

Battle  at  Tsaitsun,  July  24,  i    to   12  P.  M. 

Battle  at  Hoshivs^u,  July  25,  10  A.  M.  to  3  P.  M. 

Battle  at  Auping,  July  26,  6  to  9  P.  M. 

Chinese  troops  retired  to  Mat'ou  on  the  27th 
inst. 

July  29.  Reports  from  various  sources,  etc.: 
Foreign  troops  advance  on  the  26th  from  Auping 
tov^^ard  Mat'ou,  from  3  A.  M.  to  12  M.,  and  v^ere 
driven  back  to  Auping  by  the  Chinese  at  daylight 
on  the  27th. 

Foreign  troops  of  three  nationalities  at  Auping. 
Chinese  ammunition  short;  southern  rice  boats  in 
the  hand  of  the  foreign  army.  Russian  troops  are 
advancing  toward  Kalgan  ( from  a  man  from 
Changpingchou,  eighteen  miles  south  of  the 
Great  Wall) . 

July  29  P.  M.  Reported  Yangtsun  completely 
destroyed  by  foreign  troops  two  or  three  days 
ago,  and  foreign  army  in  steady  advance.  The 
Empress  Dowager  desires  Tung  Fu  Hsiang 
and  Jung  Lu  to  send  her  with  an  army  to 
Hsianfu,  the  capital  of  Shansi.  They  do  not 
consent,  and  suggest  Li  Ping  Heng  to  help  con- 
quer us.  He  is  ordered  up,  has  arrived,  and 
is  now  attacking  the  Peit'ang.     During  the  night 


128  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

a  strong  barricade  was  built  on  the  north  bridge  ; 
two  hundred  Boxers  took  up  a  position  on  it 
and  commenced  firing. 

July  30,  10  A.  M.  The  Chinese  army  messen- 
ger left  Changchiawan  at  8  o'clock  yesterday 
evening.  He  reports  desultory  fighting  from 
3  A.  M.  to  8  P.  M.  yesterday.  Many  Chinese 
were  killed.  The  foreign  army  advanced  to 
Mat'ou  yesterday  at  8  A.  M.  Chinese  retreated 
on  Changchiawan.  They  have  about  10,000  men. 
Three  cannon  have  been  taken  from  the  Chien 
Men  to  the  front.  Fighting  at  Peit'ang  is  con- 
tinued by  Boxers.  The  firing  from  the  north 
bridge  is  by  a  company  of  two  hundred  Boxers 
having  only  thirteen  rifles.  The  Empress  has 
three  hundred  carts  and  Tung  Fu  Hsiang  one 
hundred,  ready  to  start  west;  the  date  is  a  secret. 
Tung's  fourth  son,  with  five  hundred  men,  has 
reached  Lianghsiang  on  the  way  west.  (This 
news  was  brought  in  by  a  soldier  of  Tung  Fu 
Hsiang's  body-guard,  who  brings  us  regularly  the 
report  of  the  army  messenger.) 

Same  date,  7:30  P.  M.  Yesterday  morning 
Mr.  Sugi  sent  two  outside  coolies  to  Tungchow 
to  inquire  in  regard  to  the  foreign  army,  etc. 
They  returned  this  evening.  They  report  that 
men  in  Tungchow  affirm  that  the  foreign  army 
had  fought  the  Chinese  yesterday  just  south  of 
Mat'ou.     They    also   report  having   seen   a   man 


ACTIVITY    OF   THE    CHINESE  129 

from  Chiachiatuan  (eight  miles  east  of  Tung- 
chow)  who  says  foreign  troops  have  come  to 
reUeve  the  CathoHcs  there,  and  are  distant  but 
a  mile  or  so  from  the  intrenchments,  letters 
having  already  been  exchanged. 

The  Peking  gates,  except  the  Chihua  Men 
and  the  Pingtzu  Men,  are  ready  to  be  closed, 
with  stone  and  sand-bags  at  their  sides.  Many 
Boxers  have  been  killed  at  the  Peit'ang;  twelve 
regiments  of  General  Ma's  troops  are  to  go  to 
Changchiawan. 

We  have  given  each  of  these  coolies  a  small 
letter  to  the  commander  of  the  troops  and 
offered  a  reward  for  a  return  to-morrow  night 
with  an  answer.  The  troops  must  be  pretty  near 
us,  and  we  may  hope  to  see  them  in  two  days. 

July  31,  II  A.  M.  The  regular  Chinese  army 
courier  arrived  from  the  field  of  battle  this 
morning  at  4:30.  He  reports,  in  the  hearing  of 
one  of  Tung  Fu  Hsiang's  body-guard,  the  same 
man  who  has  brought  us  the  reports  of  the 
movements  of  the  foreign  army  from  Yangtsun, 
the  foreign  army  advanced  from  Mat'ou,  fight- 
ing from  8  P.  M.  on  the  29th,  and  arrived  at 
Changchiawan  at  5  P.  M.  yesterday.  The  Chinese 
army  is  five  miles  south  of  Tungchow. 

August  I.  The  following  letter  received  to-day 
by  Colonel  Shiba,  dated  Tientsin,  the  26th  ult. : 

"Your  letter  of  the  22d  received.  Departure 
I 


I30 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


TEA    CARAVAN    RESTING    OUTSIDE    OF    CITY   WALL 

One  might  imagine  this  picture  to  illustrate  a  scene  in  Bible 
times,  in  Palestine  or  Egypt;  but  time  does  not  make  any  changes 
in  China;  nothing  changes  there,  save  through  the  influence  of  out- 
side aggression.  Here  is  a  caravan  from  the  interior  of  Asia,  halted 
outside  the  city  wall  for  entrance  in  the  morning.  The  burdens 
have  been  taken  from  the  camels  and  the  beasts  have  settled  for  rest. 


of  troops  from  Tientsin  delayed  by  difficulties  of 
transportation,  but  advance  will  be  made  in  two 
or  three  days.  Will  write  again  as  soon  as  esti- 
mated date  of  arrival  at  Peking  is  fixed." 


CHINESE    LIES  131 

A  somewhat  mangled  but  authentic  telegram 
has  been  received  from  London.  The  telegram 
is  undated,  but  was  sent  off  probably  between 
the  2ist  and  24th  ult.  It  refers  to  a  letter  written 
by  the  Japanese  minister  about  June  29,  and  to  a 
telegram  from  the  United  States  minister,  dated 
July  18,  from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 
state  of  affairs  here  on  the  latter  date  was  every- 
where known.  It  also  says  that  the  Chinese 
troops,  after  severe  fighting,  were  finally  routed 
from  Tientsin  on  the  15th  ult.,  and  that  arrange- 
ments for  our  relief  were  being  hastened.  It 
further  asks  if  the  Chinese  government  is  pro- 
tecting us  and  supplying  provisions,  etc.! 

Very  few  provisions  have  been  sent  in  to-day. 
A  desultory  firing  has  been  kept  up  all  the  time 
from  the  north  bridge  and  the  Mongol  market. 
The  messenger,  who  has  been  bringing  in  the 
previous  rumors  of  the  progress  of  the  troops, 
said  that  they  had  been  driven  back  from  Chang- 
chiawan  to  Auping.  As  the  letter  from  Tientsin 
has  proved  him  an  arrant  liar,  in  future  no  more 
attention  will  be  paid  to  his  stories.  It  is  a  great 
disappointment,  after  being  told  that  the  relief 
were  within  two  days  of  us,  to  hear  that  they 
have  not  yet  started  and  have  not  yet  fixed  a 
date  for  starting. 

The  messenger's  story  has  been  well  arranged 
all  along,  and  has  agreed  very  well  with  the  let- 


132  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

ter  received  by  the  Japanese  minister  on  July  i8. 
As  we  have  had  no  later  information  (the  British 
consul's  letter  gave  none)  as  to  the  movements 
of  the  army,  we  have  believed  just  what  the 
Chinaman  told  us,  and  as  long  as  he  was  get- 
ting paid  for  it  he  would  give  us  any  kind  of 
rumors. 

August  2.  Extracts  from  various  letters  re- 
ceived from  Tientsin:  Mr.  E.  B.  Drew  to  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  July  28.  "Yours  of  21st  wired 
home.  Keep  heart;  aid  coming  early.  Troops 
pouring  in.  Enemy  is  at  Peits'ang.  Japs  and 
Russians  in  his  front.  Very  little  rain.  Yangtzu 
valley  agitated.  Lu  and  Chang  trying  to  keep 
order.  Li  Hung  Chang  at  Shanghai;  doubtful 
if  he  is  coming  to  Chihli.  Tientsin  is  governed 
by  a  joint  foreign  commission.  Manchuria  ris- 
ing against  foreigners.  Russians,  hands  full  there. 
Newchwang  much  disturbed.  Germany  and 
America  each  sending  15,000  men,  Italy  5,000  — 
Canton,  west  river.  Ichang  threatening.  Ear- 
nestly hope  rescue  of  you  all." 

Mr.  E.  K.  Lowry  to  Mrs.  Lowry,  July  30. 
"Bearer  arrived  last  Friday  evening,  with  news 
from  Peking.  .  .  .  The  9th  and  14th  regiments, 
United  States,  already  at  Tientsin  ;  6th  cavalry  at 
Taku  on  its  way  up.  There  was  fighting  at  Piet- 
s'ang  this  morning.  Everything  quiet  here  now. 
Word    came    to-day   that   the   Boxers    are    killing 


RUSSIANS    FIGHTING 


133 


Christians  at  Tsunhua,  Shanhaikuan,  and  many 
other  places.  Russians  and  imperial  troops  have 
fought  at  Chinhau.  Tientsin  is  full  of  foreign 
soldiers  and  more  are  coming  all  the  time.     Rail- 


BALED    TEA    READY    FOR    SHIPMENT    TO    RUSSIA 

Some  idea  of  the  great  quantities  of  tea  produced,  and   of  the  method  of 

packing,  may  be  gathered  from  this  picture. 

road  open  between  here  and  Tangku.  Many  ladies 
and  children  were  taken  to  the  United  States  by 
the  transport  Logan.  All  property  at  Peitaiho 
has  been  destroyed  " 


134  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Consul  Ragsdale  to  Mr.  Conger,  July  28.  "Had 
lost  all  hope  of  ever  seeing  you  again.  Prospect 
now  brighter.  We  had  thirty  days'  shelling  here, 
nine  days'  siege  —  thought  that  bad  enough. 
Scarcely  a  house  escaped  damage.  Excitement 
at  home  intense,  of  course.  Our  prayers  and 
hope  are  for  your  speedy  rescue.  Advance  of 
troops  to-morrow  probable." 

From  J.  S.  Mallory,  Lieutenant-colonel  41st 
U.  S.  Infantry.  "A  relief  column  of  10,000  is  on 
the  point  of  starting  for  Peking;  more  to  follow. 
God  grant  they  may  be  in  time." 

Colonel  Warren  to  Captain  Myers.  "Have 
been  trying  to  reach  you  ever  since  June  21. 
Relieved  the  foreign  settlement  June  23.  Sey- 
mour, June  24.  Captured  east  arsenal  June  26; 
captured  west  arsenal  July  10;  captured  Tientsin 
city  July  14.  Will  advance  in  two  days.  Col- 
umn 10,000  strong, — EngHsh,  American  and 
Japanese ;  40,000  more  following  in  a  few  days. 
Hold  on  by  all  means.  First  column  will  sup- 
port you  and  divert  enemy  from  you.  There 
will  be  eight  regiments  of  United  States  infantry, 
three  of  cavalry  and  two  batteries  of  artillery; 
also  five  hundred  marines.  Infantry  will  be  in 
the  first  column.  Enemy  strongly  intrenched 
seventeen  miles  north  of  here  (Yangtsun),  and 
at  two  points  farther  on." 

The  Customs  volunteers  took  up  a  new  posi- 


NOTES    FROM    TSUNG-LI-YAMEN  135 

tion  on  the  Mongol  market,  on  the  southwest 
of  the  British  legation. 

August  3.  Another  message  was  received 
from  the  yamen  requesting  us  to  leave  the 
legation  and  go  to  Tientsin.  The  Chinese  are 
extremely  anxious  to  get  us  out  of  Peking,  as 
they  think  that  with  us  out  of  the  way  the 
armies  will  have  no  particular  reason  to  come 
to  Peking  and  will  be  content  to  settle  up  mat- 
ters at  Tientsin. 

August  4.  A  great  deal  of  firing  all  night. 
Two  Russians  were  wounded  while  building  a 
barricade,  one  of  whom  died  during  the  night. 

August  6.  A  sharp  fusillade  at  i  A.M.,  other- 
wise a  quiet  day.  The  firing,  which  throughout 
the  first  few  days  after  the  truce  amounted  only 
to  a  few  scattering  shots,  has  come  to  be  nearly 
as  hot  as  before  the  truce,  and  attacks  are  being 
made  again  every  night. 

August  8.  The  ministers  received  an  official 
message  from  the  tsung-li-yamen  saying:  "By  an 
imperial  edict  dated  August  7,  full  power  has 
been  granted  to  Li  Hung  Chang  to  discuss  and 
arrange  all  matters  by  telegraph  with  the  foreign 
offices  of  all  the  powers." 

Colonel  Shiba  reported  that  a  Chinese  outside 
coolie  came  in  to  say  that  all  the  troops  in 
Peking,  with  the  exception  of  five  battalions  of 
Jung  Lu's,  have    been,  or  are  going  to  be,  dis- 


136  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

patched  in  great  haste  to  meet  the  foreign 
troops  ;  he  does  not  know  where  the  latter  are. 
He  adds  that  another  50,000  foreign  troops  have 
been  landed  at  Taku. 

August  9.     Sniper   firing  all  day   from    Tung 
Fu    Hsiang's    troops,  especially    at    the    customs 


LI   HUNG   CHANG 
China's  greatest  Viceroy 

position  in  the  Mongol  market.  The  latter  were 
several  times  silenced  by  volleys  from  the  Nor- 
denfeldt  machine  gun  mounted  on  a  parapet 
built  against  the  west  wall  of  the  legation.  No 
firing  from  Jung  Lu's  troops  at  all. 

August  10.  Very  heavy  rifle-fire  from  all 
sides  about  3  A.  M.  A  messenger  sent  out  to 
meet  the  troops  returned,  bringing  a  letter  from 


CHEERING   DISPATCH  FROM   GASELEE       137 

General  Gaselee,  the  British  general  in  command, 
also  one  from  General  Fukushima.  General 
Gaselee's  letter  is  dated  south  of  Tsaitsun, 
August  8:  "Strong  forces  of  allies  advancing. 
Twice    defeated   enemy.     Keep  up  your  spirits." 

The  following  letter  from  General  Fukushima 
to  Colonel  Shiba  was  received  :  "Camp  at  Chang- 
chiang,  two  kilometers  north  of  Nantsaitsun, 
August  8,  1900 — Japanese  and  American  troops 
defeated  the  enemy  on  the  5th  instant  near 
Pietsang,  and  occupied  Yangtsun  on  the  6th. 
The  allied  forces,  consisting  of  American,  British, 
Russian,  and  Japanese,  left  Yangtsun  this  morn- 
ing, and  while  marching  north  I  received  your 
letter  at  8  A.  M.  at  a  village  called  Nantsaitsun. 
It  is  very  gratifying  to  learn  from  you  that  the 
foreign  community  at  Peking  are  holding  on, 
and  believe  me  it  is  the  earnest  and  unanimous 
desire  of  the  lieutenant-general  and  all  of  us  to 
arrive  at  Peking  as  soon  as  possible,  and  deliver 
you  from  your  perilous  position.  Unless  some 
unforeseen  event  takes  place,  the  allied  forces 
will  be  at  Hoshiwu  on  the  9th,  Mat'ou  on  the 
loth,  Changchiawan  on  the  nth,  Tungchow  on 
the   1 2th  and  Peking  on  the   13th  or  14th." 

The  messenger  who  brought  in  the  letter  told 
the  following  story:  On  August  6  he  went  by 
way  of  Tungchow,  finding  there  that  his  family 
had  been  murdered  by  the  Boxers.     On  the  7th, 


138  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

he  met  boat-loads  of  wounded  and  defeated  Chi- 
nese. At  Tsaitsun  he  met  the  advance  guard  of 
the  allies.  The  evening  of  the  8th  he  marched 
with  the  middle  division  to  Chuanchang,  six  miles 
south  of  Hoshiwu.  On  the  morning  of  Thurs- 
day, the  9th,  he  started  with  this  division,  which 
expected  to  reach  Hoshiwu  that  evening,  but  left 
them  and  returned  to  Peking  by  the  road  to  the 
west.  The  troops  have  but  few  Chinese  servants. 
They  have  many  pack  animals,  led  mostly  by 
Japs.  He  saw  a  small  number  of  Russians  and 
a  body  of  several  hundred  mounted  black  (prob- 
ably Bengal)  lancers,  who  made  fun  and  charged 
at  him  with  their  spears.  He  asked  how  long 
they  would  be  before  reaching  Peking,  and  was 
told  five  or  six  days,  as  the  Chinese  were  not 
stubbornly  resisting,  the  allies  merely  having  to 
drive  them  on  ahead  of  them. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  telegram 
received  by  Mr.  Conger  from  the  United  States 
consul  at  Chefoo :  "All  communications  north  of 
this  pass  through  this  office.  So  far  as  known, 
excluding  army  and  navy,  no  Americans  have 
been  killed,  and  there  has  been  but  little  loss  of 
property  south  of  Tientsin.  All  trouble  confined 
to  Peking  and  Taku.  The  high  officials  are  do- 
ing their  best  to  keep  order.  Very  large  force 
of  all  nations  at  Taku." 

August  12.     Heavy  firing  all  day. 


HARDEST   FIGHT   OF   ALL  139 

August  13.  The  whole  force  of  the  artillery 
possessed  by  us  was  brought  to  bear  on  the 
Chinese  position  in  the  Mongol  market,  as  the 
Chinese  seem  to  be  making  a  last  desperate  at- 
tempt to  kill  us  all  before  the  arrival  of  the 
relief  force,  and  it  is  expected  that  from  that 
quarter  will  come  the  fiercest  attack. 

Same  date,  4  P.  M.  The  yamen  sent  word 
that  if  we  would  refrain  from  firing  they  would 
positively  stop  all  volleys  on  their  side.  This  was 
agreed  to,  and  five  hours  later,  though  they  had 
been  shooting  all  day,  they  made  the  most  terrific 
attack  of  the  siege.  This  was  kept  up  all  night, 
the  very  violent  attacks  being  renewed  at  inter- 
vals of  about  two  hours. 

At  4.30  in  the  morning,  having  been  up  all 
night  under  the  hottest  fire  mortals  ever  endured, 
I  had  just  dropped  asleep,  which  even  the  heavy 
shots  did  not  prevent,  when  I  was  awakened  by 
the  pop,  pop,  pop,  at  regular  intervals  of  only 
the  fraction  of  a  second,  of  an  automatic  gun. 
As  I  knew  the  Chinese  had  no  such  gun  in  their 
forces,  and  as  our  own  Colt's  gun  was  just  out- 
side the  British  legation  gate  to  prevent  a  rush 
down  the  moat  between  the  British  legation  and 
Lu  Wang  Fu,  I  instantly  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  final  rush,  which  would  end  the  drama 
and  our  lives,  was  being  made. 


I40  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Grasping  my  double-barreled  shotgun,  I  rose 
from  the  floor,  where  I  had  just  thrown  myself 
down,  and  stepped  outside  in  front  of  the  lega- 
tion chapel.  As  I  did  so  I  heard  the  thunder 
of  heavy  guns  in  the  direction  of  the  Tungchow 
gate.  Then  the  situation  was  clear.  The  relief 
were  outside  the  city  engaging  the  Chinese  troops, 
and  the  automatic  gun  was  not  ours,  but  theirs. 

I  dropped  on  my  knees  in  the  roadway  and 
put  up  a  few  words  of  thanksgiving  to  Almighty 
God,  and  then,  rising,  called  out  the  good  news 
to  those  inside  the  houses,  in  excited  tones.  Oh, 
the  sweetness  of  those  sounds !  Shall  I  ever  for- 
get how  delightful  to  our  ears?  How  anxious 
I  felt  when  they  ceased  for  a  few  moments,  and 
how  happy  when  they  were  resumed  ! 

The  Chinese  attacking  us  heard  them  too,  and 
for  a  while  somewhat  slackened  their  fire  to  lis- 
ten; but  only  for  a  while,  for  they  kept  up  a  hot 
fire  all  day. 

Poor  Mitchell,  the  brave  American  gunner, 
was  wounded  in  the  night,  having  his  arm  broken 
by  a  bullet  from  the  Mongol  market  attack,  but 
he  smiled  a  grim  smile  when  the  guns  were  heard 
outside,  and  remarked:  "Oh,  you  can  keep  up 
your  devilish  racket  now,  but  in  a  little  while 
longer  you  will  be  silent  enough!" 

At  about  four  o'clock  the  Americans  on  the 
wall  saw  men  in  foreign  uniforms  directly  oppo- 


ALLIES    AT   THE    GATES! 


141 


site  them.  While  the  Americans  and  Japanese 
had  attacked  the  Tungchow  stone  road  gate  and 
the  Pieu  gate,  the  Enghsh  had  found  the  Shah- 
kuo  gate  entirely  open  and  unguarded,  and  had 


SIKH   POLICEMAN 

The  two  Oriental  types,  East  Indian  and  the  Chinese,  are 
plainly  shown  in  this  picture.  The  policeman  looms  up  almost 
like  a  giant  in  the  midst  of  his  Celestial  neighbors. 


hastened,  as  directed  by  our  notes  of  advice,  to 
the  water-gate,  directly  under  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  the  American  position  on  the  wall. 
The  Sikhs  came  pouring  up  to  the  gate,  which 
they  soon  smashed  in,  and  then  the  hurrahs  that 


142 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


rent  the  skies   told    those    in   the    houses   and    in 
the  hospital  that  the  siege  was  over. 

Just  as  the  relief  forces  were  pouring  into  the 
British  legation,  the  first  woman  to  be  wounded 
during  the  siege,  Mme.  Cuillier,  a  French  woman, 
was  struck  by  a  Mauser  rifle  bullet  in  the  thigh 
and  seriously,  but  not  dangerously,  wounded. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of 
officers  and  men  who  were  killed  or  wounded, 
and  those  who  died  of  disease  during  the  siege : 


Number 
of 

Killed  or 
died  of 
wounds 

Wounded 

Casualties  in 
per  cent 

Died  of 
disease 

Volunt'rs 
and  inde- 
pendents 

Total 

«■ 
e 

ci 
Z 

m 

u 

1 

O 

a 

0 

B 
u 

s 

IE 

0 

B 

y 
'a 

3 

1 

1 

0 

B 
V 

s 

T3 

12 

y 

'c 

3 

'i 

'c 

9 

1 

Am'can 
Aust'an 
British  . 
French  . 
German 
Jap'nese 
Russian 
Italian.. 

3 
5 
3 
3 
I 
I 

2 
I 

53 
30 

79 
45 
50 
24 
79 
28 

I 
I 
2 

7 
3 

2 

9 
12 

5 
4 
7 

2 

3 

2 

I 
I 

8 
8 
18 
37 
15 
21 
18 
II 

12. S 
II. 4 

3-7 
22.9 
23. s 
20.0 

4-9 
24.1 

17.8 

37.4 
24.4 
77.1 

31-4 
84.0 
23.9 
41.4 

30.3 

42.8 

28.1 

100. 0 

54-9 

104.0 

28.3 

65.5 

v§ 

3 

2 
I* 

5t 

I 

I 

6 
6 

it 

8 

I 

7 
4 
6 

13 
13 
10 

7 
7 

11 
II 
26 

43 
16 
29 
20 
12 

Total 

19 

388 

4 

49 

9 

126 

13. 1 

35.6 

48.7 

•• 

2 

12 

23 

67 

168 

*  Baron  Von  Ketteler. 
tMr.  Cordes. 


t  Includes  Captain  Anlo. 
§  Cossacks  of  the  Legation. 


CHAPTER   VI 


REFLECTIONS,  INCIDENTS,  AND  MEMORANDA  WRITTEN 
DURING   SIEGE 

ONE  of  the  most  no- 
ticeable effects  of 
siege-life  has  been 
to  bring  out  into  promi- 
nence all  the  mean  and 
selfish  characteristics  of 
the  individual,  as  well  as 
the  heroic  and  self-sacri- 
ficing. People  who  in 
times  of  peace  pass  for 
very  nice,  sociable  indi- 
viduals, with  no  particu- 
larly mean  tendencies, 
when  subjected  to  depri- 
vation in  the  food-supply, 
and  their  nerves  become 
a  bit  shattered  with  the 
sound  of  whistling  bul- 
lets, the  shrieking  of  fly- 
ing shells,  or  the  dull 
thud  followed  by  the 
crashing  and  grinding  of  solid  shot,  show  up  in 
their  true  bedrock  character,  and  are  meanness 
to  the  core. 

(H3) 


WANG 
Minister  Conger's  head  servant 


144  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

It  has  been  most  interesting  to  observe  the 
dissolution  of  previous  friendships,  often  of  years' 
standing,  and  the  making  of  new  ones  between 
individuals  formerly  more  or  less  at  variance. 
This  has  come  about  sometimes  from  a  man  or 
woman  with  a  sick  child,  or  sick  member  of  his 
or  her  family  having  no  supplies  of  their  own, 
begging  a  tin  of  milk  or  a  can  of  soup  or  some 
little  delicacy  or  necessity  from  a  friend  having 
abundance  of  stores.  Upon  a  flat  refusal  on  the 
ground  that  he  has  none  he  can  spare,  the  afore- 
time friend  realizes  the  depth  of  the  former 
friendship  and  has  no  wish  to  continue  it. 

Again,  another  instance :  A  gentleman  has 
gone  to  inquire  of  a  person  in  authority  in  a  cer- 
tain establishment,  where  he  is  to  move  another 
gentleman,  a  mutual  friend,  ill  and  unable  to 
take  care  of  himself,  to  a  place  of  safety,  from 
quarters  no  longer  tenable,  and  is  told:  "If  you 
have  been  near  the  sick  man,  keep  away  from 
me.  Do  what  you  please  with  him,  only  keep 
away  from  me  and  mine,  as  we  are  fearful  of 
contagion."  "But  what  do  you  advise?"  persists 
the  inquirer  of  his  quondam  friend  and  superior. 
"I  don't  advise  anything,"  is  the  reply.  "Is  he  to 
be  left  alone  to  die  or  be  captured,  where  he  is?" 
still  persists  the  anxious  friend.  "That  is  none 
of  my  business,"  is  the  heartless  answer,  destroying 
a  friendship  which  had  existed  for  twenty  years. 


"A   FRIEND   IN   NEED"  145 

Then,  too,  it  has  been  an  interesting  study 
to  watch  the  effects  on  the  optimistic  man  and 
the  pessimistic  man  of  the  various  rumors 
that  have  drifted  in  through  occasional  reports 
from  captives  or  deserters  from  the  enemy's 
troops. 

The  optimist  beHeves  that  our  enemies  are 
discouraged,  are  short  of  ammunition,  are  fight- 
ing among  themselves,  are  firing  high  purposely 
not  to  injure  us ;  that  the  relief  force  is  very 
near,  that  flashes  of  heat  lightning  are  search- 
lights of  our  friends,  etc. 

The  pessimist  believes  the  powers  are  fighting 
among  themselves  to  prevent  relief  until  no  one 
power  has  more  troops  in  the  relief  than  any 
other;  scouts  the  idea  of  search-lights  ;  says  that 
the  provisions  are  nearly  exhausted  ;  sees  new 
barricades  erected  by  the  enemy  every  night ; 
recounts  the  fatal  casualties,  increasing  each  day, 
and  notes  the  diminishing  strength  of  the  re- 
mainder, and,  moreover,  fully  believes  and  con- 
stantly asserts  that  we  are  only  staving  off  for  a 
little  while  an  inevitable  general  massacre. 

One  must  admit  that  to  know  that  eleven  of 
the  powers  of  the  world  are  kept  away,  or  are 
staying  away,  from  relieving  their  ministers,  with 
their  families  and  nationals,  for  two  months,  at 
a  distance  of  only  eighty  miles  from  navigation 
by  large  vessels,  is  a  circumstance  rather  calcu- 
j 


146 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


A  WOMAN   OF   NORTH   CHINA 

It  is  not  easy  to  obtain  pictures  of  the 
women  of  the  upper  classes  of  China. 
The  beautiful  cape  with  the  elaborate 
embroidery,  the  little  feet  mounted  upon 
pedestals,  and  that  sign  of  high  no- 
bility, the  long  finger  nails,  shown  by 
nail  protectors  on  the  third  and  fourth 
fingers  of  the  left  hand,  are  evidences  that 
this  woman  is  of  China's  "four  hundred." 


lated    to    increase 
pessimism. 

Before  the  siege 
began  I  heard  the 
United  States  min- 
ister say  that  if  the 
Boxers  destroyed  a 
single  station  on  the 
Peking-Hankow  rail- 
road, known  popu- 
larly as  the  Lu  Han 
road,  they  would 
have  a  horde  of  Cos- 
sacks protecting  the 
line  within  a  fort- 
night. Yet  of  the 
15,000  Russians  re- 
ported to  have  been 
in  Port  Arthur,  when 
the  entire  Lu  Han 
line  and  the  Peking- 
Tientsin  railroad  was 
destroyed,  not  a  man 
has  as  yet  (August 
13th)  reached  Pe- 
king. The  Boxers 
are  still  seen  from 
our  loopholes,  and 
make    our    nights 


PROPHETS    WITHOUT    HONOR  147 

hideous    with   their   horn-blowing    and    incessant 
rifle-fire. 

We  were  also  told  by  those  wiseacres,  the 
foreign  ministers,  that  Japan  could  and  would 
have  50,000  men  in  Peking  if  one  member  of 
their  legation  was  injured.  Their  second  and 
third  secretaries  have  been  killed,  their  legation 
guard  has  been  almost  annihilated,  and  we  see, 
as  yet,  no  new  Japanese  faces. 

Again,  Captain  Myers  assured  us  the  Ameri- 
cans could  easily  spare  10,000  men  from  the 
Philippines,  who  could  reach  Peking  in,  at 
longest,  two  weeks;  but  two  months  have  now 
gone  by,  and  they  have  not  materialized. 

The  people  who  have,  on  the  whole,  stood 
the  *siege  best  are  the  missionaries.  They  have 
been  more  crowded  than  any  others,  all  the 
Americans  being  compelled  to  occupy  the  Brit- 
ish legation  chapel,  where  they  are,  indeed, 
closely  packed,  while  the  English  missionaries 
occupy  part  of  the  first  secretary's  house. 

The  Americans  have  formed  into  two  messes, 
the  Presbyterians  and  Methodists  eating  at  one 
time,  the  Congregationalists,  who  are  in  the 
majority,  at  another.  They  brought  in  with 
them  considerable  provisions  in  the  way  of 
tinned  stores,  but  have  been  compelled  to  draw 
from  their  commissariat  their  supply  of  rice  and 
cracked  wheat  every  day. 


148  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

The  foreign  ministers  guaranteed  the  three 
shopkeepers  of  Peking,  Messrs.  Krueger,  of 
Kierullf  &  Co.,  Imbeck,  and  Chamot,  the 
amount  of  their  stock  if  they  would  turn  it 
into  a  commissary's  hands  for  distribution  to 
the  entire  community  as  needed.  This  was  at 
once  done,  and  a  commissary  department  ap- 
pointed  to  take  charge. 

Many  of  the  besieged  owned  ponies  or  mules, 
which  were  also  placed  under  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Dering,  Allardyce,  and 
Brazier.  One  or  two  of  these  animals  have  been 
killed  each  day,  and  each  person  (foreigner)  has 
been  allowed  to  draw  half  a  pound  of  meat. 
Many  at  first  could  not  be  persuaded  to  even 
taste  horse-meat  or  mule-meat ;  but  after  several 
weeks  of  siege-life  there  were  very  few  who  did 
not  daily  go  to  the  butchery  for  their  supply. 

The  meat  has  been  inspected  every  day  by  a 
physician,  and  a  certificate  of  healthy  flesh  given 
to  the  butcher  before  the  meat  was  allowed  to 
be  dispensed.  One  of  the  British  marines,  Wil- 
liam Betts,  of  the  Royal  Marine  Light  Infantry, 
had  been  a  butcher  previous  to  enlistment,  and 
his  services  have  been  most  valuable  to  the 
entire  community. 

The  Chinese  coolies  are  fed  with  soup  made 
from  the  bones,  the  head,  and  cleaned  entrails. 
Not  an  ounce  of  the  flesh  has  been  wasted. 


A    PEKING    BELLE 


Perhaps,  after  looking  at  this  picture,  there  will  not  be  so  much 
wonder  that  occasionally  a  Caucasian  selects  a  Chinese  girl  for  a 
wife.  That  there  are  very  attractive  Chinese  girls  this  picture  evi- 
dences. The  clothing,  the  ornaments,  and  the  surroundings  are 
all  typical. 


150  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Many  of  the  ponies  that  took  part  in  the 
Peking  spring  meeting  as  racers,  last  May,  have 
since  served  us  with  juicy  steaks  or  toothsome 
sausages.  The  mule-meat  is  considered  to  be 
better,  on  the  whole,  than  horse-meat,  and  in 
this  opinion  I  fully  concur.  As  we  have  only 
one  donkey  in  the  compound,  none  of  us  has 
as  yet  tried  donkey-flesh ;  but  the  Chinese  assure 
us  it  is  even  better  than  the  larger  animals. 

Several  days  since  one  of  the  two  cows  in 
the  compound,  having  gone  dry,  was  killed  for 
food,  and  a  notice  was  placed  on  the  bulletin 
board  at  the  bell-tower  that  applications  for 
portions  of  the  meat  would  be  received  from  all 
women  and  children,  but  that  only  such  men  as 
were  wounded  or  ill  could,  upon  a  physician's 
certificate,  receive  a  portion. 

Every  one  wanted  some,  expecting  to  highly 
enjoy  a  taste  of  fresh  beef  and  a  change  from 
horse.  The  result  was  most  disappointing. 
The  cow  was  old  and  tough,  and  her  flesh  in- 
finitely inferior  to  the  regular  ration  of  horse  or 
mule. 

The  Chinese  Christians,  supported  by  us  in  the 
Su  Wang  Fu,  having  been  for  weeks  upon  noth- 
ing but  cracked  wheat  or  "hao  Hang"  gruel,  were 
longing  for  some  animal  food,  and  begged  they 
might  be  given  some  of  the  dogs  that  continued 
to   come   from    all    over    the   city   to   feed    each 


CANINE    FOOD    PARTAKEN    OF  151 

night  upon  the  refuse  in  the  moat  between  the 
Su  Wang  Fu  and  the  British  legation. 

A  few  foreigners  with  shotguns,  therefore,  sal- 
lied forth  yesterday  and  killed  eight  good-sized 
specimens  of  the  canine  race,  that  were  forthwith 
handed  over  to  the  hungry  converts  for  their 
consumption.  Dog-hunting  as  a  food  supply 
will  not  be  neglected  in  the  future. 

As  after  July  i8th  the  shelling  ceased,  and 
some  of  the  enemies'  soldiers,  with  an  eye  to 
business,  brought  a  few  eggs  to  the  Japanese 
barricade  for  sale,  a  market  department  was  es- 
tablished and  placed  under  the  care  of  Messrs. 
A.  D.  Brent  and  J.  M.  Allardyce,  where  eggs 
could  be  obtained  pro  rata  for  numbers  of 
women  and  children  in  a  household,  compared 
with  the  supply  on  hand.  These  eggs  were  sold 
at  four  cents  each.  But  often  the  supply  only 
admitted  of  one  egg  being  sold  to  a  household 
of  women  or  children.  At  other  times  an  egg 
each  could  be  obtained  daily.  But  alas !  the 
Chinese  soldiers  soon  found  out  what  their  sol- 
diers were  doing,  and  promptly  stopped  it,  so 
that  after  August  6th  the  market  was  obliged  to 
close  from  lack  of  eggs. 

On  July  20th,  two  days  after  the  shelling 
ceased,  the  tsung-li-yamen  sent  a  present  to  the 
ministers  of  one  hundred  watermelons,  seventy 
eggplants,    sixty    vegetable     squashes,    and     one 


152  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

hundred  cucumbers.  Some  few  of  the  besieged, 
besides  the  diplomats,  thus  obtained  the  first 
taste  of  fresh  vegetables  they  had  enjoyed  for  a 
month. 

The  ministers'  request  to  the  yamen  that 
vegetable-venders  be  allowed  to  come  to  the 
barricades  or  the  great  gate,  however,  was  de- 
nied, and  we  have  since  had  no  further  supply. 
It  is  hard  to  know  that  within  half  a  mile  of  us 
in  any  direction  there  is  an  abundance  of  fresh 
fruits  and  vegetables,  and  yet,  owing  to  the 
closeness  of  our  investment  by  the  hostile 
troops,  we  cannot  obtain  a  cent's  worth. 

On  August  5th,  while  I  was  standing  talking 
with  a  Japanese  sentry,  on  an  outpost  barricade 
of  the  Su  Wang  Fu,  a  Chinese  soldier  in  full  uni- 
form walked  quickly  up  the  narrow  lane  our 
barricade  commanded  toward  us.  I  called  on 
the  Japanese  to  fire  on  him,  but  he  remarked  : 
"Let  him  come  on  ;  he  has  no  gun,  and  may 
want  to  sell  something." 

True  enough,  just  before  reaching  us  he  held 
up  his  hand  in  front  of  his  face  to  indicate  that 
he  wished  to  speak,  and  so  was  allowed  to  come 
around  the  corner  of  the  barricade.  He  was  a 
young  man  of  not  over  twenty-five,  but  showed 
the  marks  of  being  a  confirmed  opium-eater. 

"I  have  brought  you  some  eggs,"  he  re- 
marked,   hastily    exposing    ten    of    the    precious 


EGGS    EAGERLY    SOUGHT  153 

ovules  to  view.  The  Jap  counted  out  forty  cents 
and  gave  him,  and  advised  him  to  clear  out, 
which  he  speedily  did,  remarking  as  he  left:  ^'I 
will  lose  my  head  if  I  am  caught  at  this."    As  he 


Chinese  gentleman  entertaining  a  friend  with  an  opium  pipe 

could  buy  the  eggs  in  the  market  for  five  cents, 
his  percentage  of  profit  was  very  handsome. 

After  the  so-called  truce  of  July  i8th,  the  na- 
tive soldiers  occupying  the  wall  to  the  east  of 
the  American  marines'  barricade  strictly  observed 
the  terms  of  the  truce,  and  never  either  enlarged 
their  barricade  nor  fired  another  shot. 


154  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

These  were  the  only  ones,  however,  who  did 
so.  From  all  the  other  barricades  we  were  fre- 
quently fired  on,  and  every  night  or  two  a  vig- 
orous attack  would  be  made  upon  us,  during 
which  the  Chinese  would  expend  many  hundred 
rounds  of  ammunition,  firing  their  rifles  into  our 
barricades  or  the  roofs  of  our  houses,  and  scarcely 
doing  any  damage,  as  we  would  all  seek  shelter 
until  the  enemy  were  tired  out. 

Only  once  or  twice  did  they  actually  come  out 
from  behind  their  barricades  with  the  intention 
apparently  of  rushing  us ;  but  upon  receiving  a 
volley,  and  having  several  killed  or  wounded, 
they  would  hastily  bolt  back  again  to  cover. 

One  night  the  author  was  selected  by  Adjutant 
Squiers  to  lead  a  company  of  ten  coolies  in  an 
attempt  to  remove  the  stinking  carcasses  of  two 
mules  that  had  been  lying  festering  in  the  rays  of 
the  summer  sun  for  several  days,  directly  under 
the  noses  of  the  American  marines  entrenched 
at  foot  of  the  city  wall.  The  stench  they  emit- 
ted was  overpowering,  but  there  seemed  to  be 
no  way  to  remove  them,  as  to  show  a  head,  even, 
at  the  barricade  was  certain  to  bring  a  volley  from 
the  Chinese  on  the  wall  to  the  east,  just  beyond 
the  moat.  The  situation  having  grown  unen- 
durable, it  was  necessary  to  risk  life  even  to  re- 
move them,  and  had  to  be  attempted. 

Mr.    Squiers    formed    the    plan    to    have    ten 


A    TRYING    TASK 


155 


coolies,  under  a  foreigner,  go  quietly  at  night 
through  the  alley-ways  and  court-yards  that  had 
been  cut  through  to  communicate  with  the 
American  legation, 
to  the  moat  directly 
under  the  Chinese 
on  the  wall.  From 
thence  we  were  to 
crawl  forward  to- 
ward the  barricade, 
where  our  men  were 
warned  not  to  fire 
upon  us,  tie  a  rope 
around  a  mule,  slip 
back  toward  the 
moat,  and  drag  the 
mule  after  us,  and 
down  into  the  moat, 
where  it  could  sub- 
sequently be  covered 
with  kerosene  oil 
and  burned. 

With  ten  volunteer 

coolies     all  dressed   in      ^  comer  in  the  reception  room  of  a  wealthy 
1       f  1         1  ,  Chinese  srentleman,  in  Peking 

dark   clothes,    and 

warned  not  to  speak   or  even   whisper,  I  under- 
took the  task. 

We    reached   the   position   on    the   wall   street 
without  incident,  and  I  was  congratulating  myself 


156  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

we  would  succeed  without  the  Chinese  discovering 
us,  when  one  of  the  cooHes  unfortunately  struck 
his  foot  against  a  tin  can  and  sent  it  ratthng  across 
the  road.  Instantly  a  volley  was  fired  upon  us 
from  the  Chinese  barricade,  only  some  fifty  yards 
distant,  and  a  perfect  hail  of  bullets  struck  all 
about  us. 

"Drop  on  your  faces  and  lie  still,"  I  com- 
manded in  a  hoarse  whisper,  which  was  promptly 
obeyed. 

We  lay  still  for  about  fifteen  minutes.  Then 
I  sent  one  coolie  crawling'on  toward  the  nearest 
mule,  only  ten  yards  away,  and  he  soon  had  the 
noose  slipped  over  his  head  and  returned. 

We  dragged  the  animal  quietly  enough,  until 
just  at  the  corner  of  the  bridge,  where  a  lot  of 
tins,  bottles,  and  refuse  had  been  dumped  in  the 
early  days  of  the  siege,  and  before  the  Chinese 
had  obtained  their  present  position  by  driving 
the  Germans  from  the  wall  in  the  rear  of  their 
legation. 

When  the  animal  passed  over  these  obstacles 
a  loud  grating,  rattling  noise  was  made,  and  a 
second  volley  poured  down  from  the  wall.  But 
this  time  the  corners  of  the  stone  bridge  pro- 
tected us  and  we  were  in  no  danger. 

After  another  wait  of  fifteen  minutes,  during 
which  time  all  became  quiet  again,  we  returned 
and  repeated  the  operation  on  the  second  mule. 


FILTH    REMOVED  157 

dragging  his  fragran,t  (?)  carcass  alongside  the 
first,  and  completing  our  work  under  a  third 
volley,  equally  harmless. 

I   received  the  thanks  of  Mr.  Squiers  and  the 
entire    marine    guard    for  this  service,   as  it  ren- 


SOUTHERN  WALL  OF  TARTAR  CITY 

This  picture  gives  an  idea  of  the  vastness  of  the  ancient  defenses 
of  Peking  and  of  the  unhygienic  character  of  its  surroundings. 
Across  the  canal  are  to  be  seen  the  straggling  buildings  of  a  Tartar 
village.  Immediately  in  the  foreground  lie  the  stagnant  waters  of 
the  canal  and  piles  of  reeking  filth. 

dered  their  position  much  more  bearable  there- 
after, and  their  gratitude  fully  repaid  me  for  the 
danger  incurred. 

Directly  across  a  moat  leading  from  the  Im- 
perial city  wall  to  the  southern  wall  of  the  Tartar 
city  of  Peking,  opposite  to  the  British  legation, 
is  a  large  square  compound,  known  in  the  local 


158  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

mandarin  tongue  as  Su  Wang  Fu,  or  in  plain 
English  as  the  palace  of  Prince  Su. 

This  prince  inherited  the  title  from  his  father 
only  two  years  ago.  He  is  a  young  man  of 
rather  pleasant  appearance,  about  thirty  years  of 
age.  I  have  dined  with  him  twice  at  the  resi- 
dence of  his  next  younger  brother,  who  was  a 
patient  of  mine  last  winter. 

This  compound  is  surrounded  by  a  stout  brick 
wall  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high.  Lying,  as 
the  place  does,  in  between  the  British  and  Aus- 
trian legations,  it  was  decided  to  take  possession 
of  it  for  the  thousand -odd  Christian  refugees, 
mostly  Catholics,  who  had  claimed  the  protec- 
tion of  their  teachers,  the  missionaries,  when  the 
cathedrals  and  mission  premises  were  burned. 

The  idea  of  doing  this  originated  with  Mr. 
F.  H.  James,  who  was  killed  on  the  bridge  by 
Kansu  soldiers  a  few  days  after  the  occupation. 
Dr.  G.  E.  Morrison  warmly  seconded  it,  and 
the  plan  was  carried  out  without  opposition  from 
Prince  Su  or  his  retainers,  as  actual  warfare  had 
not  yet  broken  out. 

This  palace  consists  of  a  lot  of  rather  fine 
(for  Chinese  buildings)  edifices,  all  of  one  story, 
arranged  in  a  series  of  courts,  with  a  considerable 
park  on  the  west  side  facing  on  the  moat  dividing 
the  palace  from  the  British  legation. 

As  less  than   a  hundred  yards'   space  is  taken 


SHIBA    HOLDS    THE    COMPOUND  159 

up  by  the  width  of  the  moat  and  the  roadway 
on  either  side,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that  to 
hold  this  compound  was  to  protect  the  entire 
east  side  of  the  British  legation  from  the  Chinese 
fire. 

Colonel  Shiba,  the  Japanese  commandant,  with 
his  twenty-five  soldiers,  was  first  placed  in  charge, 
but  later  on  he  was  reinforced  from  time  to 
time  by  detachments  from  the  Austrians,  Italians, 
British,  and  French  marines,  and  by  the  young 
men  of  the  customs  service,  known  as  the  Cus- 
toms volunteers. 

The  most  determined  efforts  of  the  siege  have 
been  made  by  the  Chinese  troops  and  Boxers  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  palace — first,  doubtless, 
because  it  commanded  the  entire  east  wall  of 
the  British  legation  at  short  range,  and  secondly, 
because  they  desired  to  exterminate  the  thousand- 
odd  refugees — men,  women,  and  children — har- 
bored there.  Consequently,  the  loss  of  life  of 
our  defenders  and  the  number  of  wounded 
brought  from  the  Su  Wang  Fu  into  the  hos- 
pital has  greatly  exceeded  that  of  any  other  one 
place. 

To  Colonel  Shiba,  its  heroic  defender,  is  due 
the  greatest  credit,  inasmuch  as  he  has  held  the 
place  for  weeks,  after  the  other  commanders 
had  prophesied  it  would  have  to  be  given  urp  in 
twenty-four  hours. 


i6o  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

This  he  has  been  enabled  to  do  by  building 
barricade  after  barricade  in  the  rear  of  his  first 
line  of  defense,  at  often  less  than  fifty  yards'  dis- 
tance, and  when  one  barricade  was  shelled  until 
absolutely  untenable,  retreating  to  the  next  strong 
position  in  his  rear. 

Colonel  Shiba  also  enlisted  all  the  Japanese 
civilians  in  the  city,  and  even  trained  twenty- 
five  of  the  native  Catholic  converts  into  very 
steady  soldiers,  arming  them  with  rifles  taken 
from  the  bodies  of  dead  soldiers  of  the  enemy. 

In  addition  to  the  military  officers  who  arrived 
with  the  legation  guards,  there  happened  to  be 
in  Peking  at  the  commencement  of  the  siege 
two  English  captains,  one  to  study  Chinese,  the 
other  representing  a  concession  syndicate  —  Cap- 
tains Poole  and  Percy  Smith.  Both  of  the  gen- 
tlemen have  rendered  efficient  and  valuable  ser- 
vice, and,  since  the  death  of  Captain  Strouts, 
have  been  on  regular  duty. 

A  curious  fact,  interesting  alike  to  English 
and  Americans,  is  that  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
after  Captain  Myers  had  been  wounded  in  the 
sortie  on  the  city  wall  the  previous  night.  Captain 
Percy  Smith  commanded  the  American  marines 
in  the  trench  on  the  wall  all  day,  under  hot  fire 
from  cannon  and  rifles,  and  the  marines  speak 
in  the  highest  terms  of  his  bravery  and  coolness, 
and  his  care  for  their  comfort  and  safety. 


OFFICERS    AND    CIVILIANS    HELP  i6i 

Mr.  E.  von  Strauch,  formerly  first  lieutenant 
in  the  German  army,  but  now  a  member  of  the 
customs  service,  has  also  rendered  valuable  ser- 
vice in  relieving  the  officer  in  charge  at  all  the 
various  posts,  such  as  the  city  wall,  held  by  the 
Americans ;  the  Su  Wang  Fu,  held  by  Colonel 
Shiba;  the  Hanlin  Yuan,  held  by  the  British,  and 
other  points  outside  the  legation.  The  men  also 
express  the  highest  regard  for  him. 

So  much  for  the  outside  officers.  Among 
civilians  deserving  credit  are  many  who  have 
daily  and  faithfully  done  the  work  apportioned 
to  them  in  capacities  where  they  have  been  un.- 
noticed,  but  where  their  work  has  contributed 
much  to  the  general  comfort,  and  some  of  them 
at  least  should  be  mentioned. 

Messrs.  Allardyce  and  Brazier  in  the  meat 
supply  department,  Mr.  S.  M.  Russell  in  the 
commissary  department,  Mr.  Stell  in  the  coolie 
supply  department,  Dr.  Chauncey  Goodrich  and 
Messrs.  Walker  and  Whiting  in  the  coolies'  food 
supply,  together  with  Messrs.  Tewkesbury,  Ho- 
bart,  and  Norris,  all  have  steadily  worked  for  the 
common  good,  often  both  day  and  night. 

It  has  been  noticed  bya  great  many  English- 
men and  others  that  the  Russians  besieged  with 
us  have  been  of  uniformly  gentlemanly  and  cour- 
teous bearing.  They  have  won  golden  opinions 
from    all,  with    the    exception,    perhaps,    of    one 


1 62  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

intensely  biased  newspaper  correspondent,  who 
reads  in  the  most  commonplace  saying  some 
deeply-concealed  meaning,  and  some  unkind  in- 
tention toward  the  British  interests.  A  Russian 
gentleman  is  a  perfect  gentleman,  and  uniformly 
a  marvelous  linguist. 

I  have  several  times  been  present  in  a  room 
with  a  Frenchman,  a  German,  and  an  Italian, 
with  whom  several  Russians  carried  on  animated 
conversations,  addressing  each  man  in  his  own 
language,  and  apparently  with  equal  fluency. 

From  M.  de  Giers,  down  through  his  whole 
legation,  the  professors  of  Russian  in  the  Im- 
perial University  and  Tung  Wen  Kuan,  the  offi- 
cers and  clerks  of  the  Russo-Chinese  bank,  one 
can  find  none  who  are  not  perfect  gentlemen 
and  most  agreeable  companions. 

Baron  von  Radew,  the  captain  in  charge  of  the 
Russian  marines,  has  been  a  most  devoted  officer, 
and  every  point  of  his  defenses  has  had  his  con- 
stant personal  supervision.  He  has  never  un- 
dressed to  sleep  in  the  last  two  months,  but  has 
taken  the  broken  rest  he  has  obtained  lying  in  a 
steamer  chair  in  one  of  his  barricades.  He  has 
lost  greatly  in  flesh,  and  is  but  a  skeleton  of  his 
former  self,  but  remains  the  same  courteous 
officer  and  gentleman  under  circumstances  that 
have  altered  the  dispositions  of  not  a  few. 

If  the  diplomatic  corps  in  Peking  could  only 


HOUSE    BOATS 

Used  for  interior  travel  on  Chinese  rivers.     Families  pass  their  entire 
existence  on  these  boats.     Some  are  fitted  very  comfortably. 


i64  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

have  heard  the  many  and  varied  contemptuous 
remarks  made  about  them  by  their  own  nationals, 
both  before  and  during  the  siege,  they  would 
perhaps  have  a  new  idea  of  what  their  titles  of 
"envoys  extraordinary"  meant.  As  I  heard  one 
gentleman  remark:  "After  this  lot  are  disposed 
of,  I  hope  they  will  send  us  a  set  of  '  envoys 
ordinary' — common  -  sense  kind  of  men,  who 
have  eyes  and  ears." 

It  is  certainly  marvelous  that  with  the  infor- 
mation so  readily  obtainable  as  to  the  Boxer 
movement,  its  aims  and  intentions,  and  after  hav- 
ing it  forced  almost  upon  them,  as  the  British, 
American  and  French  ministers  certainly  have 
had  by  their  missionaries  and  others,  the  diplo- 
matic corps  should  have  blindly  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  penned  up  in  Peking  with  only  a 
handful  of  guards,  to  endure  treatment  as  dis- 
graceful as  it  has  been  unpleasant. 

True,  M.  Pichon  urged  his  colleagues  early 
to  send  for  legation  guards,  and  wanted  them  in 
larger  numbers,  but  even  he,  after  constant  as- 
surances from  Bishop  Faner  (who  was  perfectly 
informed  as  to  the  gravity  of  the  movement  and 
the  Imperial  sanction) ,  declined  to  act  indepen- 
dently and  allowed  the  situation  to  proceed  to 
the  utmost  extremity  before  he  believed  the  priest 
true  and  the  tsung-li-yamen  false. 

A  very  blue   lot   they   have   been   during   the 


LOW    ESTIMATE    OF    ENVOYS  165 

siege.  Although  better  fed  than  the  unfortunates 
—  the  results  of  their  credulity — compelled  to 
suffer  with  them,  they  have  not  been  pleasant 
company,  and  have  been  allowed  to  flock  together 
as  birds  of  a  feather,  and  discuss  at  length  the 
utter  neglect  of  their  home  governments  in  not 
speedily  rescuing  them. 

The  rest  of  us  poor  mortals  have  long  since 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  our  governments 
have  found  out  their  true  value,  and  have  decided 
they  are  not  worth  a  rescue. 

The  Belgian  minister  having  arrived  only  a  few 
weeks  before  the  siege  began,  is  not  to  blame 
for  the  position,  and  he  wonders  as  much  as  the 
ordinary  mortal  how  his  colleagues  could  have 
allowed  it  to  come  to  pass. 

Is  it  possible  that  England  and  America,  if  they 
had  been  informed  of  the  true  state  of  affairs  by 
their  representatives,  would  not  have  requested 
their  ministers  to  notify  all  the  foreign  women 
and  children  to  leave  the  country? 

When  a  foreign  war  is  inevitable,  even  in  a 
civilized  country,  it  is  a  necessity  for  non-com- 
batants to  leave.  In  a  barbarous  country  it  means 
murder,  often  with  torture,  to  remain;  yet  our 
missionaries  in  Paotingfu  and  places  inland  were 
not  warned  that  their  district  troubles  were  not 
local,  but  general,  and  that  they  should  hasten 
to  the  coast,  to  be  nearer  protection. 


i66  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Some  of  the  wiser  English  people  among  us 
assert  that  "  so  far  from  being  blamed  by  their 
government  for  the  siege,  and  loss  of  life  ac- 
companying it,  their  minister  will  be  praised  for 
bringing  us  safely  through  it,  and  receive  a  higher 
decoration  if  not  a  baronetcy;  just  as  he  was  re- 
warded before  for  failing  to  keep  his  govern- 
ment informed  of  the  Russians  being  the  real 
owners  of  the  Fu  Haw  railroad,  receiving  at  that 
time  some  alphabetical  additions  to  his  signature." 

John  Brown  is  much  improved  by  being  called 
Sir  John  Brown,  P.  I.  G. — which  may  mean  "per- 
fectly independent  gentleman." 

Posterity,  however,  will  read  of  this  siege  with 
amazement,  and  wonder  how  so  many  blind  and 
deaf  men  came  to  be  appointed  to  the  same  post 
at  one  time.    Truly  a  remarkable  coincidence. 


CHAPTER   VII 


ffORK  DURING  SIEGE  DONE  BY  RUSSIANS  — WORK  BY 
AMERICANS 

THE  Russian  lega- 
tion is  situated  on 
the  north  side  of 
Legation  street,  directly 
opposite  the  United 
States  legation,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards 
west  of  the  moat  that 
runs  northward  from 
the  city  wall  to  the  wall 
of  the  Forbidden  City; 
between  the  British 
legation  and  the  Su 
Wang  Fu.  Consequently,  the  Russian  legation 
is  directly  south  of  the  British  legation,  and  sepa- 
rated from  it  only  by  a  small  street  containing 
shops  of  the  humbler  sort. 

Immediately  upon  a  state  of  siege  being  de- 
clared, the  foreign  guards  took  possession  of 
this  street,  drove  out  the  inhabitants,  barricaded 
both  ends  of  the  highway,  and  so  made  it  possi- 
ble to  go  with  safety  directly  from  the  position 
held  by  the  American  marines  on  the  city  wall, 

(167) 


YOUAN    CHANG 

Beheaded  August  9,  because  he  fa- 
vored making  peace  with  foreigners. 


i68  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

through  the  American  legation,  across  Legation 
street,  also  barricaded,  through  the  Russian  lega- 
tion, and  on  into  the  British  legation  —  one  con- 
tinuous foreign  occupation.  This  was  a  necessity 
for  our  protection,  and  to  secure  for  the  Ameri- 
can and  Russian  marines  a  safe  retreat  into  the 
British  legation  in  the  event  of  their  own  loca- 
tions being  no  longer  tenable. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  siege  the  following 
persons  resided  in  the  Russian  legation :  His 
Eminence  M.  de  Giers,  envoy  extraordinary  and 
minister  plenipotentiary,  his  wife,  daughter  and 
son,  and  Miss  Edith  Miller,  a  governess  in  his 
family  ;  B.  N.  Kroupensky,  first  secretary  ;  B.  N. 
Evreinow,  second  secretary ;  P.  S.  PopofT,  inter- 
preter; Mme.  Popoff  and  five  daughters;  N.  F. 
KolessoflF,  second  interpreter;  A.  T.  Beltchenko 
and  H.  P.  WulfT,  student  interpreters;  V.  V. 
Korsakoff,  M.D.,  surgeon,  wife  and  daughter; 
N.  T.  Gomloyeff,  postmaster;  A.  Polyanoff,  clerk 
in  post  office ;  the  Rt.-Rev.  Father  Archimandrite 
Innocent  Figuroflfsky;  the  Rev.  Father  Abraham, 
Deacon  Basile,  Messrs.  OsipoflF  and  Piskimoff, 
ecclesiastical  students.  This  comprised  the  lega- 
tion personnel. 

There  was  also  the  staff  of  the  Russo-Chinese 
bank,  consisting  of  the  following  persons :  D.  D. 
PokotilofT,  company  manager  for  China  and 
Japan,  and  his  wife;    D.  M.  Pozdneeff,  his  wife 


OUR    RUSSIAN    FRIENDS 


169 


and  child ;  R.  T.  Barbier,  wife  and  child  ;  Mile. 
C.  Titoff ;  E.  Wihlfahrt,  cashier;  F.  Vavier,  book- 
keeper; Messrs,  Brackmann,  Mirny,  Alexandroff, 
Wasilieff,    Brauns,   and   Kehler;  and  Mr.  A.   W. 


I   Hi  ■■■ 


-•#  \^ 


Russian  Minister  and  Staff  of  Legation  and  their  families 

Borodavkine,    professor    of    Russian    in    the    Im- 
perial University. 

The  Russian  guards  were  sailors  from  the 
battleships  Navarine  and  Sissoi  Veliku,  to  the 
number  of  seventy-two  men,  under  Naval  Lieu- 
tenant   Baron   von    Rahden    and    Sub-Lieuftenant 


170  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Carl  von  Dehn,  with  seven  trans-Baikalian  Cos- 
sacks. 

Captain  Jean  Wroublevsky,  who  was  on  lan- 
guage-leave, also  resided  in  the  legation,  and 
acted  with  Baron  von  Rahden  alternately  as 
commander  of  the  forces.  Captain  Wroublevsky 
belongs  to  the  Ninth  Rifle  Corps,  stationed  at 
Port  Arthur. 

Some  of  the  staflf  of  the  Russo-Chinese  bank 
served  in  the  British  legation  under  the  orders 
of  Captain  Strouts  until  his  death,  and  thereafter 
under  Sir  Claude  MacDonald,  who  assumed 
command,  but  Messrs.  Kroupensky,  Evreinow, 
Kolessofif,  Beltchenko,  Dr.  Korsakoff,  and  Pro- 
fessor Borodavkine  constituted  themselves  Rus- 
sian volunteers,  and  remained  by  their  legation 
throughout  the  siege,  never  becoming  a  part  of 
the  so-called  international  volunteers  serving  in 
the  British  legation. 

These  Russian  volunteers  did  splendid  service 
in  the  defense  of  the  Legation  street  west  en- 
trance, in  the  Mongol  market  to  the  northwest, 
and  in  the  various  posts  and  barricades  on  the 
city  wall,  in  conjunction  with  the  American 
marines. 

The  Russian  sailors  and  the  American  marines 
fraternized  at  once ;  but  the  sailors  were  quite 
pleased  to  find  their  duties  did  not  often  bring 
them  into  contact  with  the    British    marines,  for 


A   GROUP    OF    DEFENDERS 


171 


< 

p 

^ 

■* 
^'^. 

■s-    ^ 

1 

• 

HB 

IKpl 

n 

1 

WK^^^j 

1 

1 

VOLUNTEERS   OF   THE    RUSSO-CHINESE    BANK 

This  picture  was  not  taken  during  the  Siege,  as  these  gentle- 
men had  something  else  to  do  during  that  time.  It  was  not  even 
taken  after  the  Siege,  and  it  is  a  question  whether  they  will  ever 
be  as  happy  and  free  from  care  again.  One  has  passed  away  for- 
ever, the  gentleman  in  the  chair  to  the  right,  who  was  killed  in 
an  engagement  with  the  Boxers.  After  hard  fighting,  in  which  a 
number  were  killed,  the  Boxers  carried  away  his  body. 


whom  they  felt  a  natural  antipathy.  Not  that 
there  has  been  the  slightest  disagreement  or 
open  bad  blood  between  those  two  nationalities, 
but  they  seem  to  have  been  mutually  pleased  to 
remain  apart. 

The    Russian    sailors    did   much   more  manual 
labor    than    any   others    of    the    besieged.      The 


172  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Americans,  English,  French,  Itahans,  etc.,  were 
quite  satisfied  to  have  all  their  barricades  built 
for  them  by  the  Chinese  Christians,  working 
under  their  missionary  teachers  or  a  foreign 
interpreter;  but  the  Russian  sailors  pitched  in 
and  built,  as  well  as  manned,  all  their  own 
barricades. 

Their  commander.  Baron  von  Rahden,  stated 
that  upon  his  arrival  his  men  were  mostly  green 
farmers,  recently  enlisted  as  sailors,  and  very  few 
of  them  had  had  any  military  experience  or  even 
knew  the  proper  handling  of  a  rifle ;  but  after 
■  association  for  a  few  weeks  with  the  well-trained 
American  marines  under  constant  fire,  they  had 
developed  wonderfully  fast,  and  he  felt,  at  the 
end  of  the  siege,  that  he  had  a  body  of  men 
under  him  well  trained,  steady,  and  cool. 

A  detachment  of  these  sailors  accompanied 
the  American  marines  in  the  expedition  to  the 
south  cathedral,  and  assisted  in  the  rescue  of 
three  hundred  native  Catholic  Christians.  At  this 
place  they  killed  seventy  Boxers  and  took  ten 
prisoners  that  they  afterward  handed  over  to  the 
Chinese  authorities  for  punishment;  but,  doubt- 
less, instead  of  being  punished  they  were  well 
rewarded. 

While  these  ten  ruffians  were  confined  in  the 
legation  jail,  one  man  succeeded  in  getting  his 
hands   free    and   loosing   one    other.     Being    dis- 


NERVE    OF    THE    SAILORS  *  173 

covered,  they  assaulted  their  sentry  with  a  brick 
and  attempted  to  make  their  escape ;  but  one 
being  promptly  shot  and  killed,  the  other  sur- 
rendered and  was  again  bound. 

During  the  many  heavy  attacks  by  Tung  Fu 
Hsiang's  soldiers  at  the  we^t  end  of  Legation 
street,  these  sailors  behaved  with  great  courage, 
and  with  their  American  marine  companions 
never  failed  to  drive  the  Kansu  ruffians  back, 
until  finally  the  Chinese  became  discouraged  at 
their  lack  of  success  in  rushes,  and  settled  down 
to  a  policy  of  sniping  from  behind  their  heavy 
barricades. 

They  were  such  poor  marksmen,  however, 
that  not  one  in  a  thousand  of  their  rifle  shots 
took  eflfect,  and  the  Russian  losses  all  told 
amounted  only  to  four  killed  and  eighteen 
wounded. 

Their  outposts  commanded  the  entire  Mongol 
market,  overlooking  the  southwestern  wall  of 
the  British  legation,  and  they  alone  commanded 
this  district  until  August  5,  some  weeks  after 
the  active  shelling  had  ceased,  when  Lieutenant 
Von  Strauch  took  up  a  new  position  in  the 
extreme  north  of  the  Mongol  market,  and  drew 
some  of  the  snipers'  fire  in  another  direction. 

The  Chinese,  early  in  the  siege,  planted  a 
Krupp  gun  on  the  Chien  Men  or  main  gate  of 
the    city,    and    from    this    position    of    vantage 


174  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

shelled  the  minister's  house  and  other  buildings 
of  the  legations  very  severely ;  but  their  aim 
was  so  bad  that  many  of  their  shells  passed  not 
only  over  the  Russian  legation,  but  over  the 
British  legation  and  Su  Wang  Fu  as  well,  finally 
falling  or  exploding  among  their  own  people 
more  than  a  mile  away  from  their  intended 
target. 

Doubtless  more  Chinese  have  been  killed  by 
their  own  shells  and  rifles  than  we  have  killed. 
As  they  always  fired  high,  and  completely  sur- 
rounded us,  the  balls  that  have  constantly 
whistled  over  our  heads  for  two  months  must 
have  fallen  among  themselves. 

They  attribute  to  our  good  shooting  a  large 
mortality  that  we  know  is  a  result,  certainly  in 
part,  of  their  bad  shooting.  In  the  sortie  made 
on  the  city  wall  the  night  of  July  3d  under 
Captain  Myers,  which  resulted  in  capturing  the 
Chinese  barricades,  several  banners,  and  some 
ammunition,  the  Russian  sailors  ably  seconded 
the  United  States  marines. 

Captain  Wroublevsky  on  one  side  found  it 
impossible  to  pass  in,  and  joined  the  marines  in 
forcing  entrance  into  the  other  side.  In  this 
sortie  Baron  von  Rahden  was  struck  on  the 
head  with  a  brick  and  two  sailors  were  wounded. 
Of  the  Americans,  Captain  Myers  was  severely 
wounded  and  two  marines  killed. 


DOWN    WITH    THE    WALLS! 


175 


Some  of  the  best  work  of  the  Russians  was 
that  done  in  burning  many  native  houses  and 
then  pulling  down  the  walls  in  the  Mongol 
market  that  concealed  sharpshooters  of  the  enemy. 


ON    THE    TOP    OF    CHINA'S    GREAT   WALL 

Wall  destroyed  by  the  Russians  after  the  Boxers  got  it.  This 
picture  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  width  of  the  Great  Wall,  and 
looks  almost  like  a  field  with  vegetation  growing,  and  the  block- 
house or  fort  erected  upon  it.  The  method  of  reaching  the  top  of 
the  wall  is  shown  by  the  driveway  up  the  side,  which  it  will  be 
observed,  is  completely  commanded  by  the  block-house.  This  wall 
extends  several  thousand  miles,  and  is  said  to  represent  the  sacri- 
fice of  millions  of  lives,  and  labor  beyond  comprehension. 

Had  this  not  been  done,  the  entire  southwestern 
part  of  the  British  legation  would  have  been 
under  a  constant  sniping  fire,  such  as  they  really 


176  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

were  exposed  to  during  the  first  few  days  of 
the  siege,  and  until  the  Russians  made  a  dash 
into  the  Mongol  market,  drove  out  the  Chinese, 
and  burned  down  their  cover. 

The  Russians  also  joined  in  an  unsuccessful 
sortie,  during  which  an  attempt  was  made  to 
capture  a  cannon  in  the  Su  Wang  Fu,  but 
owing  to  incorrect  information  as  to  its  where- 
abouts, the  Italian  officer  commanding  led  his 
men  in  the  wrong  direction,  and  after  having 
several  men  wounded,  the  party  returned  with- 
out having  accomplished  anything. 

In  the  fortification  of  their  own  legation  they 
have  been  untiring,  and  besides  loop-holing  and 
building  barricades,  have  dug  a  very  deep  trench 
all  along  inside  their  west  wall,  or  only  exposed 
side,  which  effectually  prevented  underground 
mines  from  being  undetected. 

Russian  sentries  have,  all  through  the  siege, 
been  posted  on  the  moat  bridge  at  Legation 
street,  commanding  the  water-gate  under  the  city 
wall.  Curiously  enough,  no  attack  has  ever  been 
made  from  this  quarter,  yet  to  a  foreigner  it 
appears  a  most  advantageous  opening  for  attack. 

The  Russo-Chinese  bank  was  held  by  the  vol- 
unteers as  long  as  it  was  possible  to  hold  it,  but 
after  the  Chinese  built  a  high  barricade  on  the 
wall  just  over  the  bank,  it  grew  too  hot  to  hold 
and  had  to  be  evacuated. 


RUSSIAN    HEROISM  177 

Mr.  Wihlfahrt's  house,  directly  under  the  wall, 
was  made  a  Chinese  fort  for  a  while,  and  the 
Americans  lost  several  men  from  snipers  posted 
there,  until,  finally,  a  rush  was  made  and  the 
place  destroyed. 

The  Russians  have  several  times  gone  to  other 
places  to  assist  in  repelling  serious  attacks,  on  one 
occasion  to  help  Colonel  Shiba  in  holding  back 
the  Boxer  forces  at  the  Su  Wang  Fu.  On  this 
occasion  one  man  was  seriously  wounded.  An- 
other time  they  were  called  to  help  the  German 
legation.  They  have  always  cheerfully  rendered 
any  assistance  when  called  upon,  and  Baron  von 
Rahden,  his  fellow  officers,  and  all  the  volun- 
teers are  highly  thought  of  by  the  besieged. 

Few  people  are  aware  that  when  all  the  troops 
had  left  their  outposts  and  retired  into  the  Brit- 
ish legation,  owing  to  a  mistaken  order,  four 
Russian  sailors  still  remained  alone  at  a  barri- 
cade commanding  the  Mongol  market,  and  by 
keeping  the  Chinese  soldiers  from  being  aware 
of  the  general  retreat  into  the  legation,  made  it 
possible  for  the  guards  to  return  to  the  Amer- 
ican, French,  and  German  legations  and  the  wall, 
which  otherwise  could  only  have  been  done  at 
a  frightful  cost  of  lives. 

The  United  States  legation,  usually  spoken  of 
as   the   American   legation,  is    pleasantly  situated 


178 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


UNITED  STATES  LEGATION 
Dr.  Coltman's  rooms  were  at  the  left,  Minister  Conger's  to  the 
right.  The  yard  or  "compound"  is  paved,  with  openings  for  the 
trees  and  vegetation.  The  most  attractive  part  of  the  house,  as  is 
the  case  with  nearly  ail  Chinese  houses,  is  that  which  looks  upon 
the  compound  instead  of  the  street. 

on  the  south  side  of  Legation  street.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  very  small  compound.  There  is  only  one 
building  in  it  of  foreign  style  of  architecture, 
utilized  as  a  business  office.  The  second  secre- 
tary had  his  residence  in  the  upper  portion  of 
this  building. 


PERSONNEL   OF   THE   LEGATIONS  179 

At  the  commencement  of  the  siege  the  fol- 
lowing persons  were  residing  in  the  compound: 
His  Eminence  E.  H.  Conger,  minister,  his  wife, 
daughter,  niece,  governess,  and  two  lady  guests 
from  Chicago,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Woodward;  Mr. 
H.  G.  Squiers,  first  secretary,  his  wife  and  four 
sons;  Mr.  W.  E.  Bainbridge,  second  secretary, 
and  his  wife;  Mr.  F.  D.  Cheshire,  interpreter. 
These  comprised  the  legation  staff. 

There  were  also  the  following  refugees,  who 
had  been  obliged  to  abandon  their  residences 
and  seek  legation  asylum  :  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin, 
president  of  the  Imperial  University  and  author 
of  the  "Cycle  of  Cathay,"  "Hanlin  Papers,"  and 
other  works,  both  in  English  and  Chinese;  Dr. 
Robert  Coltman,  Jr.,  professor  of  surgery  in  the 
Imperial  University,  author  of  "The  Chinese  — 
Medical,  Political  and  Social,"  with  his  wife  and 
six  children;  Mr.  William  N.  Pethick,  secretary 
to  Li  Hung  Chang,  and  three  American  mis- 
sionary ladies,  Mrs.  Mateer,  Miss  Douw,  and 
Miss  Brown. 

In  Mr.  Squiers'  family  there  was  also  a  visi- 
tor of  distinction  —  Miss  Condit-Smith,  a  niece 
of  Chief  Justice  Field,  of  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court — as  well  as  a  French  and  a  German 
nursery  governess. 

The  marine  guard  of  fifty  men  was  under  the 
command  of  Captains  Myers  and  Hall,  who,  with 


i8o 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


Surgeon  Lippett,  consti- 
tuted the  officers  of  the 
detachment.  Captain 
Hall,  with  twenty  ma- 
rines, had  been  for  sev- 
eral days  at  the  Metho- 
dist mission  compound, 
east  of  the  Hatamen  or 
extreme  southeast  gate  of 
the  city,  but  on  June  20, 
when  it  was  decided  to 
abandon  that  compound, 
and  have  the  American 
missionaries  all  move  into 
the  British  legation,  Hall 
and  his  men  returned  to 
the  American  legation  and 
thereafter  served  there. 
The  fatigue  endured  by  the  United  States  ma- 
rines in  their  constant  service  on  the  city  wall 
and  in  their  barricade  under  the  wall,  as  well  as 
the  barricade  at  the  western  end  of  the  com- 
pound in  Legation  street,  was  simply  killing. 
That  the  men  did  not  succumb  is  a  marvel. 

To  Mrs,  H.  G.  Squiers,  more  than  any  one 
else,  is  due  the  credit  of  sustaining  them  with 
cof?ee  and  biscuits  sent  out  hot  and  refreshing 
at  midnight  and  at  various  times  throughout  the 
day.     Indeed  this  lady  has  acquired,  by  her  hos- 


Inside  one  ut  the  United  States 
Legation  rooms 


GRACIOUS   HOSPITALITY 


i»i 


pitality  and  unfailing  kindness,  the  affection  of 
not  only  her  own  nationals,  but  the  regard  of 
every  one  besieged  within  the  city.  Many  poor 
fellows  wounded  in  the  hospital  have  blessed  her 
with  their  fevered  lips  for  a  cooling  drink  or  a 
nourishing  broth  prepared  by  her  own  hands. 
Her  well-furnished  storeroom  was  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  every  one  who  was  in  need  of  food, 
either  as  a  necessity  for  the  healthy  or  a  deli- 
cacy for  the  sick.  The  author  has  to  express 
his  own  unbounded  gratitude  for  many  a  tin  of 
peas,  tomatoes,  or  oatmeal  that  has  helped  to 
render  palatable  the  daily  ration  of  horse-flesh 
and  rice  that  has 
been  his  own  and 
his  family's  susten- 
ance throughout  our 
imprisonment. 

Under  the  most 
trying  circumstances 
Mrs.  Squiers  has  pre- 
served a  cheerful  de- 
meanor, and,  assisted 
by  the  ever  calm  and 
always  sociable  Miss 
Polly  Condit- Smith, 
has  daily  entertained 
at  her  hospitable 
board     the    officers. 


A  corner  in  the  United  States  Legation 


l82  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

civilians,  diplomats,  and  missionaries  with  the 
same  cordiality. 

When  Dr.  Velde,  the  able  German  surgeon 
in  charge  of  the  hospital,  was  worn  out  with 
fatigue  and  unable  to  find  a  quiet  place  for  a 
night's  rest,  he  was  provided  by  Mrs.  Squiers 
with  a  comfortable  pallet,  covered  with  a  mos- 
quito curtain,  in  a  little  closet  room,  usually 
occupied  by  the  German  nurse,  and  so  enabled 
to  obtain  a  rest  that  was  an  absolute  necessity 
to  his  continuing  in  service. 

All  of  the  American  ladies  have  worked  with 
patience  and  perseverance,  constantly  making 
the  sand-bags  which  have  so  efficiently  protected 
the  soldiers  and  the  entire  community  from  the 
unceasing  fire  of  bullets  from  the  enemy.  Every- 
thing in  the  line  of  cloth  has  been  used  for  this 
purpose.  Handsome  linen  table-cloths,  rich  silk 
draperies,  towels,  gowns  and  dress  materials 
have  been  freely  sacrificed  to  provide  for  the 
defense. 

When  the  wounded  became  numerous  in  our 
quarters,  and  were  nightly  worried  by  those  in- 
fernal pests,  the  mosquitoes,  the  ladies  cheer- 
fully sent  all  their  mosquito  curtains  to  the 
hospital  to  be  used  by  their  brave  defenders  to 
alleviate  their  discomfort. 

Every  one  realized  when  we  became  besieged 
that  we  were  in  a  position  that  only  divine  help 


^•5L-^.-  - 


Mr.  F.  D.  Cheshire 
Interpreter 


Mr.  H.  G.  Squiers 
First  Secretary 


Mr.  E.  H.  Coneer 

Minister 


Mr.  W.  E.  Bainbridge 
Second  Secretary 


The   United   States   Legation   Staff 


i84  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

and  a  speedy  rescue  could  avail  us.  Surrender 
under  any  circumstances  now  could  only  mean 
butchery.  We  had  seen  the  survivors  of  the 
massacre  at  the  south  cathedral  come  among 
us  with  little  children  almost  hacked  to  pieces 
by  the  cruel  knives  of  the  fanatical  Boxers,  and, 
knowing  their  hatred  for  us,  we  well  knew  that 
if  the  men  were  overcome,  the  women  and 
children  must  suffer  a  horrible  death  or  worse. 

Many  of  the  men  had  resolved  that  at  the 
last  fight  they  would  themselves  kill  their  wives 
and  daughters  to  prevent  their  suffering  at  the 
hands  of  the  incarnate  devils  that  surrounded  us. 
My  own  wife  never  allowed  me  to  leave  her 
upon  a  night-attack  without  first  giving  her  my 
revolver  for  the  purpose  of  using  it  as  a  safe- 
guard to  herself  and  daughters  in  the  event  of  my 
non-return,  and   the  overpowering  of  our  forces. 

The  American  marines  led  in  the  expedition 
to  the  south  cathedral  to  rescue  the  Catholic 
Christians  being  killed  there,  and  were  accom- 
panied by  a  Russian  detachment  and  by  civilians 
W.  N.  Pethick  and  W.  J.  Duysberg.  Here  they 
rescued  over  three  hundred  Christians,  and 
brought  them  safely  to  the  American  legation, 
where  their  wounds  were  dressed  by  Drs.  Lip- 
pett,  Korsakoff,  and  Coltman,  and  they  were  then 
sent  into  the  Su  Wang  Fu  to  be  fed  and  cared 
for  until  the  end  of  the  siege. 


THREE    NATIONS   JOIN    IN    DEFENSE         185 

The  American  marines  also  took  part  in  the 
expedition  to  the  Boxer  rendezvous  temple,  north 
of  the  Austrian  legation,  in  which  fifty-six  Boxers 
were  cornered  and  killed.  Their  bravery  and 
endurance  has  been  noted  by  all.  Their  main 
task  —  that  of  holding  the  city  wall  —  should  ren- 
der their  fame  immortal.  True,  they  have  been 
ably  helped  in  this  task  from  time  to  time  by 
both  Russian  and  British  marines,  but  the  post 
was  theirs,  and  to  them  belongs  preeminently 
the  glory  of  holding  the  position  that,  like  the 
Su  Wang  Fu,  was  a  key  to  the  place  of  last 
stand  —  the  British  legation. 

In  the  brilliant  sortie  on  the  night  of  July  3, 
led  by  Captain  Myers,  both  Russian  and  British 
marines  took  part,  and,  although  the  credit  has 
usually  been  attributed  to  the  Americans,  Eng- 
lish and  Russians  are  equally  deserving.  When 
on  the  point  of  springing  over  our  barricade  to 
attack  the  Chinese  position.  Captain  Myers  ad- 
dressed his  men  with  ringing  words  of  encour- 
agement. 

The  Chinese  had  their  first  intimation  of  his 
movement  when  they  were  saluted  with  a  deaf- 
ening yell  directly  under  their  barricade,  for  our 
little  force  gave  a  tremendous  shout,  as  instructed, 
as  they  rushed  around  the  one  open  side  and 
clambered  over  the  breastwork. 

Many  of  the   Chinese  fled,  but  the  remainder 


i86 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


poured  a  hot  fire  into  the  ranks  of  the  invaders, 
Privates  Turner  and  Thomas  of  the  Americans 
being  instantly  killed  by  bullets,  as  reported,  and 


Robert  Coltman,  jrd,  i654yrs.       Rev.  R.  Coltman         Dr.  R.  Coltman,  Jr. 
Eva  D.  Coltinan,  If  yrs.     Chas.  L.  Coltman,  9  yrs.  Alice  C.  Coltman,  13  yrs. 

Mrs.  R.  Coltman  Mrs.  Dr.  R.  Coltman.  Jr. 

Wm.  P.  Coltman,  1%  yrs.     Mary  O.  Coltman,  4  yrs. 

FAMILY  OF   THE   AUTHOR 

All  of  the  persons  in  this  group,  with  the  exception  of  the  au- 
thor's father  standing  in  the  center,  and  his  mother  at  the  left, 
suffered  in  the  Siege. 

Captain  Myers  severely  wounded  by  a  spear. 
Corporal  Gregory  of  the  British  marines  was 
also  shot,  and  two  Russian  soldiers  were  wounded 


WE   HOLD   THE   WALL  187 

by  bullets;  but  the  position  was  captured,  and 
the  retention  of  the  post  on  the  wall  assured,  as 
henceforth  it  would  be  possible  to  ascend  the 
ramp  without  being  exposed  to  Chinese  fire. 

The  Chinese  fled  to  their  second  barricade, 
a  few  hundred  yards  nearer  the  Chien  Men, 
which  they  have  held  ever  since,  and,  although 
they  have  shelled  the  American  position  captured 
from  them  for  days,  they  have  never  been  able 
to  dislodge  our  men. 

When  the  United  States  minister  and  his 
family  left  the  legation  and  sought  refuge  in  the 
British  legation,  they  were  given  the  house  of 
the  British  legation  physician.  Dr.  Poole,  for  a 
residence,  and  into  this  six-roomed  house  were 
crowded  four  men,  ten  women  and  nine  children. 

Mr.  Squiers,  Mr.  Cheshire,  and  Mr.  Pethick 
continued  to  remain  at  the  United  States  lega- 
tion. The  legation  building  was  peppered  with 
bullets  the  livelong  day,  and  shelled  at  intervals 
with  three-inch  shells  from  both  city  gates,  east 
and  west,  until  all  the  roofs  were  full  of  holes, 
and  the  gatehouse  completely  demolished,  the 
flagstaff  being  cut  through  and  the  flag  falling 
to  the  ground.  It  was  speedily  picked  up,  how- 
ever, and  nailed  to  a  tall  tree  near  the  gate- 
house, from  which  it  still  floats,  though  riddled 
with  holes. 

Dr.    Lippett,    the    surgeon    of    the    guard,    re- 


i88  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

ceived  a  bad  wound  of  the  thigh,  fracturing  the 
bone  and  completely  disabling  him,  on  June 
29,  and  has  been  in  the  hospital  ever  since. 
Dr.  G.  D.  Lowry,  a  medical  missionary  of  the 
Methodist  mission,  immediately  took  his  place. 

Sergeant  Fanning,  Corporal  King,  and  Privates 
Kennedy,  Tutcher,  and  Fisher  have  been  killed 
in  the  barricades,  and  Privates  Silva,  Shroder, 
Mueller,  and  Hall  vv^ere  wounded  early  in  the 
siege.  The  Americans  killed  were  all  buried  in 
the  Russian  legation  compound  just  across  Le- 
gation street. 

There  were  no  American  civilians  serving  as 
volunteers  with  the  American  guard,  but  Dr. 
Coltman,  his  son,  Robert  Coltman,  3d,  and  Mr. 
W.  E.  Bainbridge  served  guard-duty  in  the 
British  legation  among  the  international  vol- 
unteers. 

Mr.  H.  G.  Squiers,  who  was  elected  by  Sir 
Claude  MacDonald  as  his  chief  of  stafif,  and  sec- 
ond in  command  after  the  death  of  Captain 
Strouts,  has  been  indefatigable  in  his  service,  not 
only  at  the  American  legation,  but  in  general 
oversight  of  the  situation  at  all  points.  That 
the  United  States  government  will  recognize  his 
unusual  ability  by  a  promotion  in  the  diplomatic 
service,  for  which  he  is  so  well  fitted,  and  to 
which  he  has  devoted  his  talents,  is  sincerely 
hoped. 


OUR    LEADER'S    VIGILANCE  189 

He  it  was  who  conceived  the  plan  of  occupy- 
ing the  city  wall  and  insisted  on  its  being  re- 
gained when  abandoned.  This,  as  a  key  to  the 
whole  position,  was  recognized  in  its  full  impor- 
tance by  Mr.  Squiers.  He,  too,  with  Captain 
Wroublevsky,  forced  a  way  down  the  wall  to 
the  Chien  Men,  and  let  in  the  first  Sikhs  that 
came  through  the  gate. 


CHAPTER   VIII 


fFORK  DONE   BT  STAFF  OF  IMPERIAL  MARITIME,   CUSTOMS, 
AND  BRITISH  LEGATION  STAFF 


AT  the  same  time 
that  the  tsung- 
li-yamen  sent 
dispatches  to  each  of 
the  foreign  ministers 
requesting  them  to 
leave  Peking  within 
twenty -four  hours, 
they  sent  a  commu- 
nication to  Sir  Robert 
Hart,  Bart.,  inspec- 
tor-general of  cus- 
toms, notifying  him 
of  their  communica- 
tion to  the  ministers. 


TYPICAL    CHINESE    LION 

As  represented  by  them.     One  of  a  pair 

guarding  a  temple  entrance. 


One  would  have  supposed  that  the  customs 
stafif,  being  employed  by  the  government  to  col- 
lect their  own  revenues,  would  have  either  been 
given  a  place  of  safety  and  separated  from  the 
foreigners  who  were  to  be  attacked  and  extermi- 
nated, or  their  safe  escort  out  of  the  country 
guaranteed. 

This  should   also  have  applied  to  the  staff  of 

(190) 


SCANT  ACCOMMODATIONS  191 

the  Imperial  University,  but  beyond  a  simple 
notification  to  Sir  Robert  Hart,  no  further  ac- 
count was  taken  of  them,  and  they  were  left  to 
seek  either  the  protection  of  their  respective 
legations,  or  remain  together  in  the  offices  of  the 
inspector-general,  where  all  had  gathered  upon 
the  entrance  of  the  Boxers  into  Peking,  and  at- 
tempt to  defend  their  lives  and  those  of  their 
families  as  best  they  might. 

As  the  Austrians  had  been  driven  out  of  their 
legation  before  any  of  the  others  had  yielded,  and 
as  their  compound  overlooked  and  commanded 
the  inspectorate-general  compound,  however,  that 
place  had  become  untenable  by  June  20,  and 
Sir  Robert  Hart  reluctantly  retired  with  all  his 
staff  and  their  families  to  a  building  allotted  to 
them  in  the  British  legation. 

This  building  is  situated  just  within  the  main 
gate  of  the  legation,  north  of  and  adjoining  the 
gate-house,  and  consists  of  three  fair-sized  and 
three  small  rooms,  with  an  out-house  kitchen. 

Into  this  narrow  accommodation  the  following 
stafif  were  obliged  to  crowd  themselves:  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  inspector-general;  Mr.  Robert  E. 
Bredon,  deputy  inspector-general,  his  wife  and 
daughter.  Miss  Juliet  Bredon  ;  Mr.  A.  T.  Piry, 
commissioner,  his  wife,  governess,  and  four  chil- 
dren; Mr.  J.  R.  Brazier,  his  wife  and  two  children; 
Mr.  G.  H.  Brewit-Taylor  and  wife;    Mr.  C.  H. 


192  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Oliver,  sister,  and  two  children;  Mr.  S.  M.  Russell 
and  wife,  and  Mr.  C.  B.  Mears  and  wife,  besides 
the  following  single  gentlemen :  Messrs.  P.  von 
Rautenfeld,  J.  H.  Macoun,  J.  W.  Richardson,  E. 
Wagner,  E.  von  Strauch,  N.  Konoralofif,  B.  L, 
Simpson,  H.  P.  Destelan,  H.  Bismarck,  U.  F.  Win- 
tour,  J.  H.  Smyth,  J.  W.  H.  Ferguson,  L.  Sander- 
cock,  A.  G.  Bethell,  L.  de  Luca,  C.  L.  Lauru,  R. 
B.  de  Courcy,  C.  O.  M.  Diehr,  W.  S.  Dupree, 
E.  E.  Encamacao,  J.  de  Pinna,  P.  J.  Oreglia,  and 
S.   Sugi. 

As  it  was  simply  impossible  for  all  these  people 
to  sleep  within  such  narrow  quarters,  Messrs. 
Brazier  and  Brewit-Taylor  and  their  families  se- 
cured rooms  with  some  friends  at  other  houses. 
The  remainder  all  messed  together,  excepting  Mr. 
Bredon's  family,  in  which  were  included  Messrs. 
B.  L.  Simpson  and  C.  L.  Lauru.  The  single  men 
slept  in  blankets  on  the  narrow  brick  veranda 
when  not  on  duty  at  one  of  the  many  posts. 

With  the  exception  of  Sir  Robert  Hart,  whose 
advanced  age  prevented  his  doing  military  duty, 
and  Mr.  R.  E.  Bredon  and  Mr.  C.  H.  Oliver,  all 
the  others  regularly  enrolled  themselves  as  a  volun- 
teer corps  known  as  the  customs  volunteers,  and 
did  most  excellent,  arduous,  and  effective  work. 

Mr.  E.  von  Strauch,  having  served  as  first 
lieutenant  in  the  German  army  for  some  years, 
was  given  command,  and  Mr.  Macoun  was  made 


OUR    ENGLISH    NEIGHBORS 


193 


second  officer.  After  Macoun  was  wounded,  and 
until  again  able  to  go  on  duty,  Mr.  B.  L.  Simpson 
acted  as  second  officer. 

Adjoining  the  British  legation  on  the  north  lies 
the  Hanlin  Yuan,  a  large  yard  full  of  many  build- 
ings, containing  one  of  the  most  famous  libraries 


SIR     ROBERT     HART 

And  members  of  the  Customs  Staff  and  their  families,  with  one 
or  two  others,  who  lived  together  in  the  house  immediately  behind 
the  group  during  the  siege. 

extant,  the  Hanlin  library.  By  the  Chinese  this 
library  has  always  been  regarded  as  one  of  their 
most  valuable  possessions.  Here  were  stored 
thousands  of  volumes  of  Chinese  history,  essays, 
and    records   of    the   various   government   boards 


M 


194 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


that  had  collected  for  centuries.  North  of  this 
Hanlin  Yuan,  separated  only  by  a  wide  street 
known  as  the  Chang  An  Chieh,  is  the  wall  of  the 
Forbidden  City. 

The  Boxers  and  Imperial  troops  early  took  pos- 
session  of   the   northern   end    of   this   compound, 


CUSTOMS    VOLUNTEERS 

Who,  throughout  the  siege,  fought  in  defense  of  the  legations. 
This  little  band  did  excellent  service.  Brave,  cool  and  deliberate, 
they  made  themselves  felt  wherever  their  services  were  called  for. 


and  in  their  efforts  to  dislodge  us  from  the  British 
legation,  ruthlessly  set  fire  to  their  sacred  library 
and  destroyed  the  priceless  collections  of  ages. 


CHINESE    THROW    BRICKS  195 

A  large  part  of  the  defense  of  the  southern  half 
of  the  Hanlin  Yuan-  has  been  performed  by  the 
customs  volunteers,  and  there  has  been  no  more 
trying  military  service  in  the  siege  than  at  that 
place.  We  early  took  possession  of  the  southern 
end,  and  built  a  barricade  of  bricks  and  sand-bags 
running  completely  across  the  compound. 

Our  barricade  and  the  Chinese  barricades  are 
so  close  that  often  the  Chinese  have  thrown  half 
bricks  over  at  us,  as  their  rifle-bullets  cannot  pene- 
trate the  barricade.  Several  of  our  men  have 
been  injured  by  stones  and  bricks  in  this  way. 

In  addition  to  the  members  of  the  customs  staff 
given  above  as  enrolled  members  of  the  customs 
volunteers,  there  have  been  attached  to  the  corps 
for  duty  at  various  times  Messrs.  Barbier,  Flicke, 
and  Hagermann. 

Messrs.  E.  Wagner  and  H.  P.  Destelan  were 
soon  called  to  serve  at  the  French  legation,  as  the 
fighting  had  been  very  hot  there,  and  men  were 
needed  to  take  the  places  of  those  who  had  fallen. 
They  barely  joined  their  fellow-nationals  at  their 
perilous  post,  and  there  on  July  i  Wagner  was 
struck  by  a  shell  in  the  head  and  instantly  killed. 
A  few  days  later  Destelan  had  a  miraculous  escape. 
The  Chinese  across  the  narrow  lane,  known  as 
Customs  lane,  had  undermined  the  street,  and 
placed  a  mine  under  the  wall  and  eastern  buildings 
of  the  legation.     When  they  exploded  it,  Destelan 


196  BELEAGUERED   IN    PEKING 

and  several  others  were  buried  in  the  ruins ;  but  a 
second  explosion  almost  imnrediately  blew  several 
of  them  out  again,  among  them  Destelan  and  Von 
Rosthorn,  the  Austrian  charge  cCaffaires^  who  was 
on  duty  in  the  French  legation  after  the  surrender 
of  his  own  legation  to  the  Chinese  troops.  Only 
two  Frenchmen  lost  their  lives  by  this  mine,  while 
the  Chinese  acknowledge  they  lost  twenty  of  their 
own  men  by  the  explosion. 

The  sad  death  of  Wagner  threw  a  deep  gloom 
for  many  days  over  his  young  comrades  in  arms. 
He  was  so  intelligent,  bright  and  cheerful,  always 
willing  to  undertake  any  service,  and  always  in 
the  front,  that  he  has  been  sorely  missed.  Mr. 
H.  Bismarck  was  obliged  by  the  necessities  of 
the  German  legation  to  join  his  nationals  there, 
as  was  also  Mr.  Diehr. 

Bismarck  has  had  his  hat  shot  off  and  his 
clothes  perforated  several  times,  has  been  in 
several  sorties  and  all  sorts  of  dangers,  but  has 
wonderfully  escaped. 

Mr.  L.  de  Luca  received  a  painful,  but  not 
serious,  wound  of  the  forearm,  which  partially 
disabled  him  for  a  time  ;  but,  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble, he  was  again  serving  at  the  various  posts. 
For  a  time  he  was  on  Captain  Wray's  staff  as 
aid  in  the  commissary  department,  but  in  this 
place  there  was  no  danger  to  be  incurred,  and 
he  joyfully  relinquished  it  to  Mr.  C.  H.  Oliver. 


ILLNESS,   WOUNDS    AND    TROUBLE         197 

Mr.  J.  W.  Richardson  was  the  first  of  the 
customs  volunteers  to  be  disabled,  having  re- 
ceived, early  in  the  siege,  a  flesh-wound  of  the 
shoulder.  He,  too,  made  a  rapid  recovery,  and 
was  soon  acting  as  assistant  steward  in  the  hos- 
pital, but  when  entirely  in  health  returned  again 
to  guard  duty. 

Mr.  A.  G.  Bethell  became  ill  from  overwork 
and  fatigue,  and  was  obliged  to  go  into  the  hos- 
pital for  several  days,  but  recovered  under  rest 
and  appropriate  treatment  and  returned  to  duty. 
Mr.  U.  F.  Wintour,  while  excavating  a  deep 
trench  in  the  Hanlin  Yuan  as  a  countermine  to 
the  Chinese  mining  attempts,  badly  sprained  his 
knee-joint,  which  has  since  resulted  in  a  severe 
synovitis,  compelling  him  to  remain  with  his  leg 
fixed  in  a  plaster-of-paris  cast  for  some  weeks. 

Messrs.  Sandercock,  Bethell,  and  Ferguson, 
although  barely  nineteen  years  of  age,  have  en- 
dured the  fatigue  and  hardship  of  the  watches, 
and  have  been  as  cool  under  fire  as  old  veterans. 

Especial  mention  should  be  made  of  the  con- 
spicuous bravery  and  gallantry  of  Mr.  W.  S. 
Dupree,  or,  as  he  is  familiarly  and  affectionately 
called  by  his  comrades,  "Little  Willie,"  This 
young  man,  in  times  of  peace,  is  a  postal  clerk 
of  very  aflfable  manners,  but  in  the  siege  he  has 
been  a  doughty  warrior.  Although  only  eigh- 
teen years  of  age,  he  has  taken  his  full  share  of 


198 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


the  work.  He  accompanied  the  first  expedition 
of  the  American,  British,  and  Austrian  soldiers 
in  the  attack  upon  a  Boxer  rendezvous  in  a 
temple  north  of  the  Austrian  legation,  in  which 
fifty-six  Boxers  were  killed.  He  has  also  served 
in  the  Hanlin  Yuan,  in  the  Su  Wang  Fu,  and  in 


Chinese  barber  and  liis  outfit 

the  latest  achievement  of  the  customs  volunteers, 
—  the  capture  and  holding  of  a  new  and  val- 
uable strategical  position  northward  of  the  Rus- 
sian position  in  the  Mongol  market. 

On  the  night  of  August  lo  this  intrepid 
youngster  crept  out  from  behind  the  fortification 
in  the   Mongol  market,    and  crawled    across   the 


A  LAD'S   ADVENTURE 


199 


moonlit  common,  directly  in  front  of  and  up 
to  the  Chinese  barricade.  Here  he  heard  one 
of  the  soldiers  exhorting  his  comrades  to  follow 
him  and  make  an  attack  upon  the  foreigners. 
"Why  should  we  hesitate?"  he  urged.  "We 
have  so  many  and  they  so  few    success   is   sure 


Chinese  barber  at  work 


and  failure  impossible."  Dupree  hurried  back 
and  warned  his  companions  in  time  to  prevent 
a  serious  rush,  for  a  few  moments  later  the 
Chinese  actually  left  their  barricade  and  at- 
tempted a  rush  upon  our  works ;  but  on  a  volley 
into  them,  which  killed  one  and  wounded  sev- 
eral  others,  their   short-lived  courage  left  them, 


200  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

and  they  precipitately  bolted  back  again  behind 
shelter,  from  which  they  peppered  our  barricade 
vigorously  for  the  next  half  hour  without  doing 
any  damage. 

The  customs  mess,  in  spite  of  their  exceedingly 
narrow  accommodations,  was  eminently  a  hospita- 
ble group,  and  cheerfully  allowed  Messrs.  E. 
Backhouse,  G.  P.  Peachey,  Dr.  J.  Dudgeon,  and 
J.  M.  Allardyce  to  eat  with  them,  they  turning  the 
stores  they  possessed  on  entrance  into  the  com- 
mon storeroom.  The  meals  were  well  managed 
under  the  efficient  care  of  Mrs.  Russell  and  Mrs. 
Mears,  whom  all  of  the  customs  volunteers  will 
ever  remember  for  their  constant,  untiring  efforts 
to  render  palatable  the  daily  ration  of  horse-meat 
and  rice  which  has  constituted  their  principal  food. 

Sir  Robert  Hart,  the  I.  G.,  as  he  is  generally 
spoken  of  by  his  staff,  as  well  as  many  outsiders, 
has  endeared  himself  to  all  his  young  soldiers  by 
his  sharing  with  them  without  complaint  and 
unvarying  cheerfulness  the  meager  diet  of  the 
mess.  He  has  never  allowed  any  delicacy  sup- 
plied to  him  that  the  others  did  not  partake  of, 
but  has  acted  on  the  principle  of  share  and 
share  alike  throughout.  He  may  in  time  have 
a  successor  in  the  service,  but  he  can  never 
be  supplanted  in  the  affections  of  those  mem- 
bers of  his  staff  who  have  endured  with  him 
the  trials  of  the  siege  in  Peking. 


BRITISH   LEGATION    HOUSEHOLD  201 

Mr.  J.  H.  Smyth  entered  the  British  legation 
when  he  was  convalescing  from  scarlet  fever,  and 
was  placed  in  quarantine  for  some  weeks.  Conse- 
quently he  was  prevented  from  taking  any  part  in 
the  early  proceedings  of  the  siege,  but  as  soon  as 
allowed  out  he  at  once  went  on  duty.  Mr.  Origlia 
came  down  with  scarlet  fever  also  on  July  10,  and 
thereafter  could   render  no  military  service. 

The  staff  of  the  British  legation  who  were  actu- 
ally in  the  siege  consisted  of  the  following  per- 
sons: Sir  Claude  M.  MacDonald,  G.  C.  M.  G., 
K.  C.  B.,  envoy  extraordinary,  etc.,  his  wife,  two 
children,  and  sister-in-law;  Herbert  G.  Dering, 
secretary;  Henry  Cockburn,  Chinese  secretary, 
and  wife ;  W.  P.  Ker,  assistant  Chinese  secretary, 
wife,  and  child;  Wordsworth  Poole,  M.D.,  sur- 
geon;  B.  G.  Tours,  accountant,  wife,  and  child; 
D.  Oliphant,  consular  assistant;  W.  Russell,  con- 
sular assistant;  Rev.  W.  Norris,  acting  chaplain; 
Rev.  R.  Allen,  curate,  and  the  following  student 
interpreters.  Messrs.  T.  G.  Hancock,  A.  T.  Fla- 
herty, H.  Bristow,  T.  C.  C.  Kirke,  H.  Porter, 
W.  M  Hewlett,  A.  Rose,  R.  Drury,  L.  R.  Barr, 
H.  Warren,  L.  Giles,  W.  E.  Townsend.  Captain 
F.  G.  Poole,  who  was  living  with  his  brother,  the 
doctor,  while  on  language-leave,  was  also  consid- 
ered of  the  legation  household,  as  well  as  several 
guests,  Mr.  Clarke-Thornhill  and  the  legation 
keeper.  Sergeant  R.  Herring. 


202  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

The  military  guard  consisted  of  Senior  Captain 
B.  M.  Strouts,  Captains  Halliday  and  E.  Wray, 
Sergeants  J.  Murphy,  A.  E.  Saunders  and  J.  Pres- 
ton ;  four  corporals,  one  bugler,  one  armorer,  and 
one  hospital  steward,  with  sixty-eight  privates. 
They  had  one  Nordenfeldt  quick-firing  gun.  The 
greater  part  of  the  civilians  serving  as  volunteers 
also  served  under  Captain  Poole  in  the  British 
legation. 

When  the  siege  commenced,  the  western  side 
at  the  south  end  of  the  compound,  which  ad- 
joined a  lot  of  Chinese  buildings,  was  a  most 
vulnerable  point,  which  the  natives  readily  dis- 
covered, and  a  number  of  vigorous  attempts  to 
set  fire  to  the  legation  were  made  by  firing  these 
buildings,  so  that  a  fire-brigade  was  organized 
under  B.  G.  Tours  and  Tweed,  of  the  volunteers, 
to  fight  this  dangerous  form  of  attack. 

During  one  of  these  fires  in  the  first  few  days 
of  the  siege,  Captain  Halliday  led  a  brilliant 
rush  through  a  hole  knocked  in  the  wall,  and 
drove  oflf  the  attacking  party,  killing  over  twenty 
of  them.  Unfortunately  Captain  Halliday  was 
severely  wounded  by  a  shot  through  the  lungs, 
which  rendered  him  helpless,  and  lost  to  the  be- 
sieged the  services  of  a  brave  and  kindly  officer. 

The  British  marines  took  part  in  the  expe- 
dition to  the  Boxer  rendezvous  and  the  taking 
of  the  city  wall,  where  Sergeant  Murphy  distin- 


DEADLY    CONFLICT  203 

guished  himself  as  the  leader  after  the  fall  of 
Captain  Myers.  Brave  Captain  Strouts,  who  was 
much  loved  by  his  men,  was  shot  and  mortally 
wounded  in  the  Su  Wang  Fu  on  July  16,  while 
on  a  tour  of  inspection.  Dr.  G.  E.  Morrison 
was  injured  by  the  same  volley,  and  Colonel 
Shiba,  who  was  with  them,  narrowly  escaped, 
several  bullets  passing  through  his  clothing. 

The  British  legation  compound  being  of  such 
dimensions,  necessitated  a  larger  guard  for  look- 
outs than  any  other  one  place.  Notwithstanding 
this,  men  were  daily  detached  for  duty  with  the 
Americans  on  the  city  wall,  and  to  help  Colonel 
Shiba  in  the  Su  Wang  Fu.  A  barricade  was 
built  across  the  moat  connecting  the  legation 
with  the  Fu,  and  thus  the  men  could  cross  with- 
out being  seen  from  the  north  bridge  just  under 
the  Forbidden  City  walls,  where  a  strong  force 
of  the  enemy  was  posted.  To  replace  these  de- 
tachments sent  out,  the  civilian  volunteers  were 
largely  called  upon,  and  rendered  excellent  ser- 
vice. 

Sir  Claude  MacDonald,  after  the  death  of 
Captain  Strouts,  assumed  command  of  the  gar- 
rison, and  directed  some  of  the  outposts  of  other 
nationals;  but  the  French  and  Germans  denied 
his  authority  at  their  outposts,  and  controlled  their 
own  movements.  Captain  Poole  was  in  charge 
of  the  international  volunteers  within  the  British 


204 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


legation  and  had  command  of  the  north  stables, 
north  wall,  Hanlin  Yuan,  and  students'  quarters. 
He  led  one  expedition  into  the  carriage-park,  a 
large  tract  of  land  which  came  close  to  the 
legation  on  the  northwest  side  of  our  enclosure. 


^-^  S»t«T 


GROUND -PLAN    OF    THE    FOREIGN    LEGATIONS    IN    PEKING 
This  will  serve  to  locate  the  various  buildings  pictured  elsewhere. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  accompanying  dia- 
gram of  the  British  legation,  the  eastern  side 
and  the  southern  side  required  no  watches  kept 
so  long  as  the  Japanese  retained  possession  of 
the  Su  Wang  Fu  and  the  Russians  and  Amer- 
icans held  the  wall  and  Legation  street.  But 
the    Hanlin    Yuan    in    the    north    and   the   entire 


SHORT    RANGE    SAVED    US  205 

western  wall  covered  long  stretches  of  space 
that  required  a  constant  watch  to  be  kept,  as 
the  Chinese  were  intrenched  in  numerous  and 
heavy  barricades  in  their  front,  from  which  they 
maintained  a  constant  fire  from  rifles,  Krupp 
guns  and  smooth-bore  cannon. 

Until  the  i8th  of  July  the  cannons  boomed 
from  morning  until  night,  sending  their  solid 
shot  and  shrieking  shells  into  our  midst,  tearing 
the  brick  houses  to  pieces,  and  crushing  the 
tiles  on  the  roof  to  fine  powder,  at  the  same 
time  sending  their  fragments  in  every  direc- 
tion. The  very  shortness  of  range  prevented 
their  dropping  with  any  force,  and  saved  us 
much  damage ;  and  when  the  muzzles  of  their 
pieces  were  raised  to  pass  over  the  first  row 
of  buildings,  which  they  had  failed  to  batter 
down,  the  projectiles  flew  harmlessly  over  our 
heads. 

The  building  that  has  suffered  most  has  been 
the  constable's  house,  in  the  south  stables.  This 
place  has  borne  the  brunt  of  most  of  the  attacks 
made  upon  the  British  legation  and  is  literally 
converted  into  a  sieve. 

Under  the  direction  of  Mr.  F.  D.  Gamewell 
all  the  walls  of  the  legation  have  been  so 
strengthened,  often  to  a  thickness  of  eight  feet, 
that  one  is  perfectly  safe  behind  them,  except 
at   the   loopholes,  and   in   these  large   bricks  are 


206 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


kept,  except  when  the  openings  are  being  used 
for  observation  or  firing. 

The  Chinese  have  been  remarkably  bad  marks- 
men, and  have  usually  fired  by  holding  their 
guns  up  so  that  the  point  barely  projected  above 
their  barricades,  and  then,  pressing  the  trigger, 
immediately  withdrawing  the   gun,  having  never 

ventured  their  lives 
in  the  least.  But  this 
method  of  firing  does 
no  damage.  Thousands 
upon  thousands  of  bul- 
lets have  been  sent 
whistling  far  over  our 
heads.  Doubtless  when 
we  hear  the  history  of 
the  outside  we  will 
learn  of  hundreds  hav- 
ing been  killed  and  wounded  a  long  way  from 
the  legation  district. 

On  July  5  Mr.  David  Oliphant,  of  the  lega- 
tion staff,  while  serving  in  the  Hanlin  Yuan,  was 
shot  in  the  abdomen  and  died  from  shock  and 
internal  hemorrhage  in  about  an  hour.  Brief 
mention  of  his  death  has  previously  been  made. 
He  was  born  on  July  12,  1876,  and  had  been 
three  years  in  the  consular  service.  Passing 
first  in  his  examination,  he  soon  showed  a  special 
aptitude  for  acquiring  the   Chinese  language,  so 


A  Chinese  cart 


SKETCH    OF    DAVID    OLIPHANT  207 

much  so  that  when  he  finished  his  term  of 
student  interpreter  he  was  retained  to  work  as 
consular  assistant  in  the  chancery  of  the  British 
legation. 

Here  his  services  have  been  appreciated  most 
highly  by  those  under  whom  he  worked,  and 
his  loss  is  a  most  grievous  blow  to  all  those  who 
came  officially  in  contact  with  him. 

He  was  one  of  the  most  promising  of  the 
younger  members  of  the  British  consular  ser- 
vice, with  which  he  was  further  connected  in 
the  person  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  R.  M.  Mansfield, 
H.  B.  M.  consul  at  Amdy.  During  his  stay  in 
Peking,  David  Oliphant  had  endeared  himself  to 
all  who  knew  his  exceptionally  even  temper, 
readiness  to  oblige,  and  active  mind.  In  sport 
he  was  the  leading  spirit  and  manager,  and  he 
will  be  practically  impossible  to  replace  in  this 
capacity. 

When  the  siege  began  he  was  among  the 
first  to  go  forward  in  the  defense  of  the  lega- 
tions. Untiringly  he  worked  at  fortifications, 
vigilantly  he  watched  at  night.  When  a  portion 
of  the  Hanlin  Yuan  was  occupied  he  was  spe- 
cially detailed  for  service  there,  and  took  part 
in  several  brilliant  raids  in  connection  with  the 
occupation. 

It  was  while  cutting  down  a  tree  here  in  an 
advanced  position   that   he   was   struck   down  by 


2o8  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

the  enemy's  bullet,  and  his  promising  career 
cut  short.  He  died  in  the  arms  of  his  elder 
brother,  Nigel  Oliphant,  of  the  Imperial  Bank 
of  China.  He  is  deeply  and  sincerely  mourned 
by  all  who  knew  him. 

Another  young  man,  Mr.  H.  Warren,  stu- 
dent-interpreter, while  on  duty  in  the  Su  Wang 
Fu,  on  July  16,  was  struck  by  a  shell  in  the 
face ;  he  was  very  badly  injured  and  died  in  a 
few  hours. 


CHAPTER    IX 

WORK    DONE    BY  AUSTRO-HUNGARIANS  —  MR.   AND    MRS. 
CHAMOT 


August    F.    Chamot 


THE  Austro-Hungarian 
detachment  consisted  of 
thirty  bluejackets  from 
the  cruiser  Zenta.  They 
arrived  in  Peking  on  June  3 
by  the  last  train,  together 
with  the  German  detach- 
ment. Lieutenant  T.  Kollar 
was  in  command,  with  Mid- 
shipman Baron  R.  Boyne- 
burg  von  Lengsfeld  and  T. 
Mayer.  With  the  detachment  arrived  also  Cap- 
tain Thomann  von  Montalmar  and  Lieutenant 
Ritter  von  Winterhalter,  so  that  there  were  five 
officers  and  thirty  men  at  Peking.  When  com- 
munication was  cut  Captain  Montalmar  took 
command  himself. 

In  the  legation  there  were  only  Dr.  A.  von 
Rosthorn  and  Mrs.  von  Rosthorn,  the  minister 
having  left  on  leave  in  April  and  Vice-consul 
Natiesta  being  sick  at  Shanghai.  His  successor, 
Mr.  Gottwald,  tried  to  come  up  in  the  relief 
expedition    under   Admiral    Seymour.      The    de- 

N  (209) 


210  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

tachment  guarded  also  the  Belgian  legation  until 
the  Belgian  minister  left  there,  and  came  to  the 
Austrian  legation  on  June   i6. 

On  June  13,  a  Boxer  attack  on  the  new  mint 
and  the  Imperial  Bank  of  China  was  checked 
by  rifle-fire  from  the  east  corner  of  the  lega- 
tion. A  second  attack  was  made  at  night  and 
was  also  repulsed.  During  the  search  following 
the  unsuccessful  attack,  several  Boxers  were 
killed  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the  north  on 
Customs   street. 

The  next  day  the  traffic  on  the  Chang  An 
street  crossing  Customs  street  was  stopped  by 
an  outpost,  and  later  on  by  a  wire  fence,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  smuggling  of  disguised 
Boxers  into  the  legation  quarter. 

During  the  night  the  guard  at  the  Belgian 
legation  was  attacked,  but  beat  of?  the  Chi- 
nese. A  patrol  caught  some  suspicious  people, 
who  were  handed  over  to  the  Chinese  authori- 
ties. A  part  of  the  French  detachment  assisted 
them  in  their  night  watches  at  the   barracks. 

On  June  20,  the  detachment  was  ready  for 
marching,  to  escort  Dr.  and  Mrs.  von  Rosthorn, 
as  no  notice  had  been  given  to  Dr.  von  Ros- 
thorn of  the  ministers'  new  decision  not  to 
leave.  On  arriving,  about  3  P.  M.,  at  the  French 
legation.  Dr.  von  Rosthorn  was  shown  by  Mr. 
Pichon  a  letter   from    the   tsung-li-yamen   to  the 


AUSTRIANS    IN    GREAT    DANGER  211 

ministers,  promising  them  protection.  Upon  this, 
Dr.  von  Rosthorn  returned  with  the  detach- 
ment to  the  Austrian  legation. 

While  all  the  posts  were  being  reoccupied, 
and  the  bluejackets  began  to  re-erect  the  fortifi- 
cations, which  had  been  pulled  down  before  leav- 
ing to  prevent  the  Chinese  from  using  them, 
Tung  Fu  Hsiang's  soldiers,  who  were  well  hid- 
den in  the  neighboring  houses,  opened  a  fierce 
firing  from   two  sides  at  about  3.30  P.  M. 

The  Austrian  legation  being  entirely  exposed, 
and  untenable  against  any  serious  attack,  it  had 
been  understood  that  the  charge  d^'affaires  and 
the  detachment  were  to  retreat  to  the  French 
legation.  This  was  done  under  a  galling  fire, 
but  there  was  only  one  man  wounded. 

The  Austrians  immediately  hastened  to  a 
position  in  the  barrier  erected  by  the  French 
some  one  hundred  yards  south  of  the  customs 
compound.  From  that  day  they  defended  with 
the   French  the   French  legation. 

The  Austrian  legation,  after  having  been 
looted,  was  burned  by  the  Chinese  on  June  21. 
On  June  22,  the  fire  extended  to  the  houses  on 
both  sides  of  the  barricade,  and  the  latter  had 
to  be  left.  Another  one  was  built  near  the 
corner  of  Customs  and  Legation  streets  com- 
manding Customs  street. 

On  June  22,  owing  to  a  false  alarm,  the  Ital- 


212  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

ian,  French,  and  German  legations  were  left, 
but  were  almost  immediately  reinhabited,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Italian  legation,  which  was 
already  burning,  as  was  also  their  wall  of  defense 
commanding  the  east  end  of  Legation  street. 

From  that  date  Captain  von  Montalman  di- 
rected the  fighting  of  both  the  French  and  the 
German  legations.  Sir  Claude  MacDonald  hav- 
ing at  that  time  been  elected  by  the  ministers 
as  their  commander-in-chief. 

The  attacks  on  the  French  legation  were, 
from  the  beginning,  extremely  vehement,  as  the 
Chinese  fully  recognized  the  high  importance 
of  its  position.  Had  it  been  lost,  the  German 
legation,  the  Hotel  de  Peking,  and  the  Su 
Wang  Fu  would  have  been  no  longer  tenable. 
The  Austrians  shared  in  all  the  various  services 
which  the  garrison  of  the  French  legation  had 
to  perform.  A  strong  barricade  was  built  to 
command  East  Legation  street,  and  a  sort  of 
blockhouse  was   erected   at   the   main   gate. 

Together  with  the  French  and  Germans 
several  successful  dashes  were  made  in  the 
neighborhood,  killing  and  wounding  a  number 
of   Chinese    each   time. 

On  June  24  a  detachment  under  Midshipman 
William  Boyneburg  took  part  with  the  Germans 
in  storming  the  city  wall,  which  enabled  the 
Americans  to   reoccupy  their  former  position  on 


CHINESE    BREAK    OUR    DEFENSES  213 

the  top.  The  Austrians  constantly  reinforced 
the  Germans  on  the  wall-front  to  the  east,  and 
after  the  26th  of  June  constantly  had  five  men 
assisting  Colonel  Shiba  at  the  Su  Wang  Fu. 
Their  machine-gun  did  excellent  service  as  long 
as  the  position  behind  the  barricades  could  be 
maintained,  and  after  this  was  given  up  it  was 
sent  from  time  to  time  to  Russian,  German, 
and   English   legations   as    needed. 

When  the  French  legation  was  under  the 
hottest  fires  from  north,  east,  and  south,  only 
the  western  side  being  protected  by  the  other 
legations,  the  French  took  the  northern  and 
the  Austrians  the  southern  line  of  defense,  and 
were  each  under  constant  rifle-shot  at  only 
twenty-five  yards'  range.  This  they  endured  for 
weeks.  On  June  29  the  Chinese  succeeded  in 
making  a  break  in  the  eastern  wall  on  Customs 
street,  and  set  fire  to  the  French  legation  sta- 
bles; but  they  had  not  sufficient  courage  to 
follow  up  the  advantage  gained  with  a  rush. 
But  this  necessitated  relinquishing  the  barrier 
in  the  southern  end  of  Customs  street  and  east- 
ernmost line  of  cover  in  Legation  street,  the 
garrisons   being   under   rear   and   flank  fire. 

The  Chinese  were  gaining  daily,  or  rather 
nightly,  in  making  the  breaches  in  the  eastern 
wall  larger  and  more  numerous,  until  they  had 
nearly    razed    the    entire    structure.      Yet    they 


214  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

gained  no  great  advantage,  owing  to  the 
breaches  being  so  well  covered  from  the  win- 
dows of  buildings  and  temporary  defenses  in  the 
western   part  of   the   compound. 

The  fatigue  endured  by  our  people  was  most 
extraordinary.  From  July  i  daily  shelling  was 
endured,  which  riddled  the  roofs  and  walls  of 
every  building  in  the  compound,  until  the  prin- 
cipal building  and  main  gateway,  an  imposing 
structure,  were  utterly  demolished  and  became 
a  pile  of  ruins. 

On  the  8th  of  July  the  Chinese  brought  into 
position  at  about  eighty  yards'  distance  a  three- 
inch  Krupp  gun,  from  which  they  commenced 
to  pour  in  a  destructive  fire  on  the  eastern  wall. 
Captain  Von  Thornburg,  with  Captain  Labrousse 
and  Lieutenants  Darcy  and  Kollar,  all  anxious  to 
locate  this  gun  exactly,  left  their  main  barri- 
cade and  proceeded  to  a  spot  behind  a  low 
loopholed  wall  in  their  front,  but  had  scarcely 
arrived  when  a  shell  burst  in  their  midst,  a  frag- 
ment of  which  pierced  Von  Thornburg  through 
the  heart,  causing  him  to  fall  dead  into  the 
arms  of  his  friends.  He  was  sorrowfully  car- 
ried to  the  rear,  and  at  2  P.  M.  was  buried  with 
military  honors,  although  the  bullets  were  falling 
thick  around  those  who  were  thus  honoring 
their  comrade  and  leader.  The  tears  of  sym- 
pathy on  this  occasion   evidenced   the  sorrow  of 


MINES    BENEATH    US  215 

the  men,  and  the  general  esteem  in  which  the 
fallen   had   been    held. 

After  the  death  of  Captain  Von  Thornburg, 
the  command  of  the  Austrians  devolved  upon 
Lieutenant  Von  Winterhalter. 

On  July  13,  at  6:45  P.  M.,  the  Chinese  made 
a  furious  attack,  commencing  vv^ith  rifle-fire  and 
shouts  of  "Kill!  Kill!"  This  w^as  intended  to 
draw  all  the  defenders  into  their  positions,  and 
nearly  succeeded,  for  after  a  few  moments  the 
rifle-fire  suddenly  ceased  and  two  mines  ex- 
ploded with  a  great  report,  blowing  up  Mr. 
Morisse's  house,  where  Dr.  Von  Rosthorn,  Lieu- 
tenant Darcy,  and  Mr.  Destelan,  with  four 
French  sailors,  were  stationed.  Two  of  the 
sailors  were  never  recovered,  but  all  the  others 
were  able  to  extricate  themselves  from  the  ruins 
with  but  slight  injuries. 

Earth,  stones,  and  dust  were  thrown  high 
into  the  air,  clouds  of  heavy,  sulphurous  smoke 
rose  from  the  hole  in  the  ground,  poisoning  the 
dust-laden  air,  and,  at  the  same  moment,  to  add 
to  the  horror  of  the  situation,  two  three-inch 
guns  opened  up  on  the  main  gate  house,  send- 
ing in  their  contingent  of  iron  hail  from  a  dis- 
tance of  only  eighty  yards. 

This  explosion  compelled  both  the  Austrians 
and  French  to  retire  about  thirty  yards  eastward 
behind  a   cover  they  had   already  partly  erected 


2i6  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

in  preparation  for  a  stubbornly  contested  retreat ; 
but  upon  the  shell-fire  ceasing,  the  combined 
forces  made  a  rush  later  on,  drove  the  Chinese 
out  of  the  main  gateway,  and  reoccupied  it. 

Never  in  history  has  there  been  a  more  stub- 
bornly contested  few  acres  than  those  occupied 
by  the  Austrians  and  French  in  the  French  lega- 
tion compound.  The  buildings,  however,  taking 
fire,  the  French  were  compelled  to  retire  again 
behind  their  intrenchment  in  the  western  part 
of  the  garden,  the  Austrians  retreating  to  the 
chapel  and  earthworks  connecting  with  the  Pa- 
vilion des  Etrangers^  a  small  building  with  very 
thin  walls.  One  small  house  was  burned  by  the 
Austrians  to  prevent  the  Chinese  from  using  it 
against  them. 

At  first  this  entire  new  line  of  defense  was 
very  weak,  but  it  was  rapidly  strengthened  by 
adding  bricks  and  sand-bags.  Yet  even  to  the 
end  all  visitors  considered  it  a  very  precarious 
defense.  One  American  marine  remarked,  "Our 
place  is  bad  enough,  but  this  is  worse." 

As  the  Chinese  barricaded  themselves  in  the 
western  part  of  the  legation  captured  by  them, 
they  also  made  use  of  the  shrubbery  and  trees 
to  shield  their  force,  and  these  the  Austrians  had 
to  clear  away  under  hot  fire.  Until  July  17,  day 
and  night,  the  enemy  in  the  opposite  barriers 
poured  in  a  steady  fire,  which  the  Austrians  only 


UNSEEN    PERILS  217 

returned  by  an  occasional  shot,  as  their  ammuni- 
tion had  to  be  husbanded. 

The  so-called  truce  did  not  last  very  long,  for 
on  the  23d  the  firing  was  nearly  as  bad  as  be- 
fore, and  at  night  often  worse.  To  cut  oflf  any 
further  mines,  a  trench  sixty  yards  long  and  ten 
feet  deep  was  dug  in  front  of  the  Pavilion  des 
Etrangers.  As  was  afterward  seen,  the  Chinese 
had  really  attempted  two  further  mines,  but  for 
some  unknown  reason  had  given  up  before  they 
were   completed. 

On  the  last  night  of  the  siege  the  firing  in 
the  French  legation,  as  everywhere  else,  was 
exceedingly  hot,  and,  although  two  shells  burst 
in  the  chapel,  no  one  was  injured. 

The  Austrians  lost:  killed,  one  officer,  three 
bluejackets ;  wounded,  three  officers,  eight  blue- 
jackets. Of  the  10,000  rounds  of  ammunition 
brought  to  Peking  2,000  were  used  by  the  men, 
and  2,000  by  the  machine-gun.  The  shield  of 
the  machine-gun  shows  the  marks  of  having 
been  struck  by  rifle-balls  some  fifty-odd  times. 

No  story  of  the  siege  in  Peking  would  be 
complete  without  mention  of  the  work  of  August 
Chamot  and  his  heroic  wife.  He  is  a  Swiss,  and 
in  Peking  has  charge  of  the  Hotel  de  Peking 
for  Messrs.  Tallieu  &  Co.  His  wife  is  a  San 
Francisco  girl. 


ai8  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

When  every  other  woman  in  Peking  left  her 
home  and  repaired  to  the  British  legation,  Mrs. 
Chamot  remained  by  her  husband,  with  a  rifle 
in  her  hand,  and  took  her  regular  hours  of  watch- 
ing at  the  loopholes  of  the  barricade  erected 
across  Legation  street,  between  the  Hotel  de  Pe- 
king and  the  German  legation.  Mr.  Chamot 
started  a  bakery  in  his  hotel,  and  daily  had  the 
Chinese  bake  hundreds  of  loaves  of  good  brown 
bread,  with  which  he  supplied  many  hungry 
mouths  at  the  English,  French,  and  German 
legations. 

There  is  no  building  left  standing  in  Peking 
that  has  as  many  shell-holes  in  it  as  the  northern 
two-story  building  of  this  hotel.  Any  one  vis- 
iting the  structure  immediately  after  the  relief, 
and  before  the  debris  had  been  at  all  cleared, 
would  scarcely  believe  that  a  brave  American 
woman  had  lived  there  for  sixty  days  unharmed. 
Her  hairbreadth  escapes  were  every-day  occur- 
rences. When  the  Belgian  party  were  surrounded 
in  Chang  Hsin  Tien,  before  the  close  siege  com- 
menced, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chamot,  with  a  small 
party  armed  with  rifles,  went  out  from  Peking 
and  rescued  them. 

They  were  in  several  sorties  to  the  north 
cathedral  before  the  close  siege,  and  in  many 
more  after  the  close  siege  had  begun.  Every 
day  they  were  under  fire  in  crossing  the  bridge 


Madame  Chamot,  the  heroine  of  the  siege 


220  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

between  their  hotel  and  the  British  legation,  as 
they  brought  over  the  bread  that  was  so  eagerly 
looked  for. 

After  some  shells  had  burst  in  the  baking- 
room,  and  killed  one  and  severely  wounded 
others  of  the  Chinese  bakers,  Mrs.  Chamot,  rifle 
in  hand,  held  the  coolies  to  their  work  while 
her  husband  served  with  the  guards. 

Mr.  Chamot  was  wounded  in  the  hand  by  a 
Boxer  spear,  but  never  lost  ten  minutes'  work 
on  that  account,  going  around  with  his  hand 
tied  up,  and  yet  using  it  whenever  occasion  re- 
quired. His  bravery  was  to  the  point  of  reck- 
lessness, and  the  wonder  is  he  was  not  killed. 
That  his  country  and  other  nations,  especially 
the  French,  will  substantially  recognize  his  ser- 
vices is  surely  to  be  expected. 


CHAPTER    X 


EDICTS   ISSUED   BY   THE    EMPRESS  DURING    SIEGE,    WITH  A 
FEW   COMMENTS   THEREON 


w 


An  attendant  to  a  Confucian  priest 


HILE  we  were 
besieged  in 
the  legations 
we  were  quite  un- 
aware of  anything 
going  on  in  the  city 
outside  of  us  until 
July  i8,  after  the  so- 
called  truce,  when 
we  paid  a  native  a 
large  sum  to  smuggle 
into  the  compound 
copies  of  the  Peking 
"Gazette,"  the  gov- 
ernment organ,  of 
the  dates  of  June  13 
to  July  19,  inclusive. 
The     translations     of 


such  parts  as  relate  to  the  Boxers  or  foreigners 
that  follow  show:  first,  the  duplicity  of  the  Em- 
press in  apparently  trying  to  suppress  the  Boxers 
prior  to  the  declaration  of  war,  June  19;  second, 
her  open  encouragement  in  edicts  from  that  date 

(221) 


222  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

until  the  defeat  of  her  armies  at  Tientsin  under 
Generals  Sung  Ching,  Ma  Yu  Kun  and  Nieh 
Shih  Cheng,  July  17;  and  third,  her  immediate 
turning  around  and  attempting  to  curry  favor  by 
denouncing  the  Boxers  in  the  edicts  of  July  18 
and  19.  While  trying  her  best  to  murder  all 
the  foreign  ministers,  she  was  having  her  own 
ministers  abroad  inform  the  countries  to  whom 
they  were  accredited  that  the  foreign  ministers 
were  perfectly  safe  here. 

The  edicts  speak  for  themselves,  and  are  an 
eloquent  appeal  to  the  foreign  powers  never  to 
allow  this  most  treacherous  woman,  or  any  other 
Manchu  for  that  matter,  to  occupy  the  throne 
of   China. 

"June  13  —  Edict:  Two  days  since  a  member 
of  the  Japanese  legation,  the  clerk  in  chancery, 
was  murdered  by  desperadoes  [her  own  soldiers 
in  government  uniform]  outside  the  Yung  Ting 
gate.  We  were  exceedingly  grieved  to  learn  of 
this. 

"The  officials  of  our  neighboring  nations  on 
duty  in  Peking  should  receive  our  protection  in 
every  possible  way,  particularly  in  such  times  as 
the  present  [when  we  are  planning  to  kill  them 
all  at  once],  when  every  exertion  must  be  used, 
because  desperadoes  are  as  thick  as  bees. 

"We  have  repeatedly  commanded  the  various 


EVIL    CHARACTERS    TO    BE    ARRESTED     223 

local  officials  to  secure  the  most  perfect  quiet  in 
their  districts,  yet  in  spite  of  these  orders  we 
have  this  case  of  murder  of  the  Japanese  chan- 
cellor occurring  in  the  very  capital  of  the  Empire. 

"The  civil  and  military  officials  have  been  too 
remiss  in  not  clearing  their  districts  of  bad  char- 
acters, or  arresting  the  proper  persons,  so  we 
hereby  set  a  limit  of  time  for  the  arrest  and 
punishment  of  such  criminals  [time  not  stated]. 
Should  the  time  expire  without  a  successful 
search  for  the  guilty,  then  the  responsible  offi- 
cial will  be  given  a  penalty.  [In  other  words, 
if  the  murderer  of  the  Japanese  is  not  discovered 
before  we  drive  all  the  foreigners  out,  and  the 
plot  fails  because  of  this  premature  murder  giv- 
ing it  away,  somebody  will  have  to  pay  for  it.]" 

"Edict  No.  2:  The  Boxer  desperadoes  have 
recently  been  causing  trouble  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  capital,  and  finally  Peking  has 
become    involved. 

"We  have  a  number  of  times  issued  edicts  in 
explicit  terms  ordering  the  mihtary  commanders 
on  duty  near  the  capital  to  put  an  end  to  these 
disturbances.  Notwithstanding  which,  cases  of 
murder  and  arson  are  reported,  and  bad  charac- 
ters are  circulating  malicious  rumors  under  pre- 
tense that  they  are  only  revenging  themselves  on 
converts. 

"The    result    is    that   our   good    soldiers    have 


224 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


become  involved,  and  do  not  hesitate  to  disre- 
gard our  commands;  at  the  same  time  they  be- 
lieve   these    men    leagued    together    to    commit 


ENTRANCE    TO   THE    IMPERIAL    UNIVERSITY    OF   PEKING 

Among  the  notable  buildings  that  were  destroyed  by  the  Box- 
ers was  the  Imperial  University  of  Peking.  To  the  noble  work 
performed  within  its  walls  can  be  attributed  much  of  the  rapid  rise 
of  the  "  progressive"  or  "  New  China"  party,  with  whom  the  Em- 
peror seemed  to  be  so  thoroughly  in  accord  until  his  power  was 
subordinated  to  that  of  the  Empress. 

arson   and   murder,   and  suffer  themselves  to  be 
misled  by  them. 

"Good  citizens  most  of  all  desire  to  stimulate 
patriotism,  and  one  would  like  to  know  when 
in  the  history  of  the  world  has  there  ever  been 
a  strong    nation   made  so   by  condoning  anarchy 


BOXERS    SHOULD    DISBAND 


225 


among  the  people.  We  know,  since  investiga- 
ting, that  among  the  ranks  of  the  Boxers  there 
are  many  bandits  and  desperadoes,  who  have  vied 


IMPERIAL   PAVILION 

The  Hall  of  Classics,  in  the  Forbidden  City,  Peking  — 

a  beautiful  building 

with  one    another  in   disgraceful   acts   of   looting 
and  robbery. 

"We  have  already  ordered  Kang  Yi  and  others 
to  proceed  to  the  various  country  districts,  and 
acquaint  each  and  all  with  our  virtuous  inten- 
tions, so  that  there  may  be  tranquillity.  Let 
Boxers  who  have  already  entered  into  league 
disband  and  be  quiet.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
o 


226  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

various  cases  of  robbery  and  murder  which  have 
occurred  are  the  work  of  traitors. 

"We  shall  believe  no  man  a  bad  citizen  un- 
less caught  red-handed  in  crime.  But  really  bad 
characters  must  be  rooted  out,  and  from  now 
on  no  mercy  will  be  shown  such.  We  order 
General  Sung  Ching  to  command  General  Ma 
Yu  Kun  to  come  with  all  speed  to  the  capital, 
and  make  strenuous  efforts  to  arrest  all  desper- 
adoes in  the  region  about  Peking.  It  is  impor- 
tant that  only  ringleaders  be  seized,  but  the 
subordinates  may  be  allowed  to  scatter. 

"It  is  strictly  forbidden  that  the  military  make 
use  of  this  as  a  means  of  causing  trouble.  Our 
hope  is  that  the  land  may  be  cleared  of  traitors, 
and  the  country  be  at  peace." 

This  edict  really  means  that  Ma  Yu  Kun 
was  to  come  to  Peking,  to  seize  converts,  and 
his  soldiers  were  to  avoid  any  conflict  with  the 
Boxers. 

"June  19:  Recently  there  has  grown  up  much 
dissension  between  the  people  generally  and  the 
Christian  converts.  Rumors  of  all  kinds  have 
been  rife,  and  irresponsible  people  have  seized 
the  opportunity  to  burn  and  rob. 

"It  is  certain  that  the  foreign  ministers  ought 
to    be    protected.      [Which    means    the    rumors 


EMPRESS    ORDERS    PROTECTION  227 

were  that  they  were  to  be  murdered  with  gov- 
ernment sanction.] 

"Yung  Lu  is  ordered  to  detail  his  own  sol- 
diers and  exert  his  authority  in  person  in  east 
Legation  street  and  vicinity  to  secure  their  pro- 
tection.    He  must  not  be  lax. 

"Should  the  foreign  ministers  and  their  fam- 
ilies prefer  to  temporarily  retire  to  Tientsin,  he 
must  see  they  are  protected  en  route  [when 
Baron  von  Ketteler  left  the  legation  walls  the 
following  day  to  visit  the  tsung-li-yamen  he  was 
murdered  by  these  'protection  guards'];  but  as 
the  railway  is  not  now  in  working,  and  if  they 
go  by  cart-road  it  would  be  difficult  to  secure 
their  safety,  they  would  do  better  perhaps  to 
abide  here  in  peace  as  heretofore  [we  had  been 
under  fire  for  six  days  at  intervals]  until  the 
railroad  is  repaired,  and  then  act  as  they  see  fit. 
Respect  this." 

"June  21. — Edict :  From  the  foundation  of  this 
dynasty,  foreigners  in  China  have  always  been 
kindly  treated.     [A  tremendous  lie.] 

"In  Tao  Kuang  and  Hsien  Feng's  time  they 
were  granted  the  privilege  of  trading,  and  they 
then  asked  permission  to  propagate  their  relig- 
ion, which  request  was  reluctantly  granted.  At 
first  they  were  submissive  to  Chinese  control, 
but  for  the  last  thirty  years  they  have  taken 
advantage    of    China's    forbearance    to    encroach 


228  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

on  our   territory  and  trample  our  people   under 
foot  while  demanding  our  wealth. 

"Every  concession  made  by  China  only  in- 
creased their  reliance  upon  force.  They  con- 
stantly oppressed  the  people,  insulted  the  gods 
and  sages,  and  so  caused  the  most  burning 
indignation  among  the  populace.  Hence  came 
about  the  burning  of  the  chapels  and  slaughter 
of  converts  by  the  patriotic  militia  [the  Boxers]. 

"The  throne  was  anxious  to  avoid  conflict, 
and  issued  edicts  ordering  the  protection  of  the 
legations  and  enjoining  pity  for  the  converts. 
Boxers  and  converts  were  declared  equally  the 
children  of  the  empire  in  our  decrees,  in  the  hope 
of  obliterating  the  existing  feud  between  them. 

"Extreme  kindness  was  shown  to  the  foreign- 
ers from  a  distance.  But  these  foreigners  knew 
no  gratitude,  and  increased  their  demands. 

"A  dispatch  was  yesterday  received,  sent  by 
the  French  consul,  Du  Chaylard,  calling  on  us 
to  deliver  into  their  care  the  Taku  forts,  other- 
wise they  would  take  them  by  force.  This 
threat  showed  their  aggressive  spirit. 

"We  have  in  all  matters  of  international  in- 
tercourse always  shown  ourselves  courteous  in 
the  extreme.  But  they,  calling  themselves  civil- 
ized states,  have  disregarded  right  and  are  rely- 
ing solely  upon  force. 

"We    have    reigned    now   nearly   thirty  years, 


FAMOUS    TEMPLE 


229 


treating  our  subjects  as  our  children,  and  being 
honored  by  them  as  a  deity,  and,  too,  we  have 
been  the  constant  recipient  of  the  gracious  favor 
of  the  Empress  Dowager.  [This  edict  pretends  to 
come  from  the  Emperor  alone,  evidently.] 


TEMPLE  OF  HEAVEN,  WHERE  THE  EMPEROR  PRAYED 

One  of  the  most  imposing  temples  of  China;  perhaps  the  most 
important,  since  it  was  the  Emperor's  place  of  worship  before  he 
abandoned  the  capital. 

"Moreover,  our  ancestors  and  the  gods  have 
answered  our  prayer,  so  that  there  has  never 
been  as  at  present  such  a  universal  manifestation 
of  loyalty  and  patriotism. 


230 


BELEAGUERED   IN    PEKING 


"We  have,  with  tears,  announced  a  war  in 
our  ancestral  shrine,  because  we  feel  it  is  better 
to  commence  a  struggle  than  to  seek  further 
means  of  self-protection,  involving  as  it  does 
eternal  disgrace. 

"All  our  officials,  high  and  low,  are  of  the 
same    mind,  and    there    have   assembled   without 


^ 

IBI 

rjuS 

rr-^ 

~    «              ^ 

m 

...--  ..^ 

Taouist  Temple  of  ten  thousand  gods  in  Nanking 

our  call  several  hundred  thousand  patriotic  mili- 
tia [Boxers],  with  many  who  are  yet  but  chil- 
dren, glad  to  carry  a  spear  in  defense  of  their 
country  [young  ruffians  who  looted  and  mur- 
dered all  the  respectable  native  residents  as  well 
as  officials  who  did  not  fly  from  Peking  before 
the  Boxers  entered  in  any  numbers]. 

"The  foreigners  rely  upon  crafty  schemes,  but 


EDICT    AGAINST    LOOTING  231 

our  trust  is  in  heaven's  justice.  They  depend 
on  violence,  we  on  humanity  [such  as  killing 
women  and  children  by  the  hundreds  at  the 
south  cathedral],  not  to  speak  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  our  cause. 

"Our  provinces  are  more  than  twenty  in 
number,  our  population  over  400,000,000;  so  it 
will  not  be  difficult  to  vindicate  our  dignity." 

The  decree  further  requests  people  with  money 
to  subscribe  assistance,  promising  official  recog- 
nition for  it,  and  also  ofifers  large  rewards  for 
those  who  distinguish  themselves  in  action,  as 
well  as  threats  for  those  who  are  dilatory  or 
cowardly,  urging  all  to  exert  themselves  con- 
tinually in  the  good  work — exterminating  alike 
foreigners  and  converts. 

"June  24. — Decree :  Yesterday  shops  and  resi- 
dences in  Tung  Tan  Pailou  street  and  Ch'ang 
Au  street  were  looted  by  militia  with  arms 
[Boxers].  This  is  a  serious  matter,  so  we  or- 
dered Yung  Lu  to  depute  officers  to  arrest  the 
offenders.  Eleven  from  one  division  and  twenty- 
three  from  another  division  were  arrested  and 
executed  on  the  spot,  the  public  witnessing  the 
executions. 

"We  now  command  the  general  officers  of 
the    various    divisions    to    give    strict    orders    to 


232 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


their  subordinates  that  the  braves  are  to  be  kept 
in  order.  Should  these  occurrences  be  repeated, 
martial  law  will  be  declared.  If  the  officers 
commanding  screen  the  offenders,  instead  of 
rigorously  enforcing  the  laws,  they  will  be  ex- 
amined, and  if  found 
guilty  severely  pun- 
ished. 

"The  military  gov- 
ernor of  the  city  is 
hereby  commanded 
to  arrest  all  despera- 
does creating  disturb- 
ances and  execute 
them  on  the  spot. 
Show  no  mercy." 

A  second  decree, 
same  date,  says  : 

"The    board    of 
revenue  is  hereby  or- 
dered to  give  Kang  Yi  two  hundred  bags  of  rice 
as  provisions  for  distribution  among  the  Boxers." 
A  third  decree : 

"Members  of  our  people  comprised  in  the 
Boxer  organization  are  scattered  in  all  parts  of 
the  region  around  the  metropolis  and  Tientsin, 
and  it  is  right  they  should  have  superintendents 
over  them.  We  appoint,  therefore.  Prince 
Chuang    and    Assistant    Grand    Secretary    Kung 


Typical  Peking  beggars 


MONEY    DIVIDED    AMONG    SOLDIERY      233 

Yi  to  be  in  general  command,  and  also  order 
Ying  Nien  brigade-general  of  the  left  wing,  and 
Tsai  Lan,  temporarily  acting  as  a  brigade  com- 
mander of  the  right  wing,  to  act  in  cooperation 
with  them. 

"We  command  Wen  Yui,  adjutant -general 
of  the  Manchu  army,  to  be  a  brigadier-general. 

"All  members  of  the  Boxer  society  are  ex- 
erting their  utmost  energies  for  the  imperial 
family,  so  we  must  not  be  behind  them  in  har- 
boring hatred  and  revenge  for  our  enemies.  It 
is  our  confident  hope  and  desire  that  the  wishes  of 
each  and  all  may  be  successfully  consummated, 
and  to  this  end  it  is  important  that  every  energy 
be  put  forth,  nothing  lacking.     Respect  this." 

"June  27. — Edict:  An  edict  appeared  yester- 
day directing,  as  a  stimulus  to  exertion,  discrim- 
inating rewards  to  be  given  to  the  various  army 
corps  that  have  distinguished  themselves  [by  loot- 
ing?] in  the  metropolitan  district.  Now  that  the 
left  wing  of  the  army,  under  command  of  Sung 
Ching,  have  in  sectional  divisions  marched  to 
the  capital,  let  100,000  taels  be  equally  divided 
among  the  men,  and  let  the  men  be  fully  in- 
structed that  they  are  to  keep  good  order  in 
the  capital." 

An  edict  was  also  issued  commanding  the 
viceroy  of  Chihli  to  retake  if  possible  the  Taku 


234  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

forts,  and  to  prevent  the  foreign  troops  (the 
alHed  armies)  from  creeping  northward.  Also 
another  ordering  the  distribution  of  100,000  taels 
each  to  the  Boxers  and  troops  throughout  the 
Metropolitan  district. 

"June  28. — Edict:  A  censor  of  the  central 
city  memorializes  the  throne  requesting  the  dis- 
tribution of  government  rice.  He  observes  that 
the  patriotic  Boxers  had  recently  been  slaying 
and  burning  the  converts,  and  that  the  markets 
are  greatly  disturbed,  so  that  not  only  the  lower 
classes  have  lost  their  means  of  livelihood,  but 
some  of  the  middle  classes  are  also  suffering 
want.  Rather  than  allow  the  ranks  of  the  crim- 
inal classes  to  be  swollen,  let  a  distribution  of 
food  be  made  by  imperial  bounty. 

"Referring  to  various  precedents,  he  asks  im- 
perial authority  for  the  issue  of  rice,  and  that 
2,000  taels  silver  be  allowed  for  expenses. 

"He  states  that  on  the  night  of  the  i6th  of 
June  there  was  a  fire  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Chien  Men,  accompanied  by  pillage,  and 
much  alarm  created.  Officials  took  to  flight 
and  shops  closed.  On  the  21st  of  June  an  inn 
in  the  native  city  was  robbed,  and  nine  persons 
were  caught  and  beheaded  on  the  spot.  On 
the  25th  (Sunday) ,  villains  pretending  to  be 
soldiers    surrounded    an    official's    residence    in 


MURDER    AND    PILLAGE 


235 


MARQUIS   TSENG'S   DAUGHTER  AND   HER   HUSBAND 

In  their  wedding  finery.     The  familiar  geranium  between  shows  that 
the  Chinese  have  our  flowers. 

Second  street  near  the  inspectorate-general  o  f 
customs  [probably  Marquis  Tseng's]  and  entirely- 
stripped  it,  shooting  wantonly  three  servants. 

"Memorialist  and  his  colleagues  will  do  their 
best  to  keep  order ;  but  he  requests  that  the 
throne  direct  the  imperial  princes  and  high 
officers  in  command  of  the  Boxers  to  order  ar- 
rested any  brigands  committing  robberies.  And 
that  the  same  princes  and  high  officers  who 
command  soldiers  should  see  that  amongst  their 


2j6  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

corps  also  there  are  no  false  soldiers  acting  in 
their  true  character  as  bandits,  committing  acts 
of  pillage." 

"June  28. — A  censor  having  complained  of 
acts  of  brigandage  in  the  capital,  we  hereby 
command  the  princes  and  ministers  in  command 
of  the  Boxers  to  instruct  their  subordinates  to 
arrest  all  guilty  parties  and  execute  them  on 
the  spot." 

"July  I. — Edict:  General  preparations  are  be- 
ing made  for  war.  Owing  to  telegraphic  com- 
munication being  interrupted,  the  courier  service, 
which  has  fallen  into  disuse,  must  be  revived. 
Yu  Lu,  viceroy  of  Chihli,  is  directed  to  send 
out  courier  spies  in  every  direction  to  obtain 
exact  information  of  the  movements  of  our 
enemies." 

On  the  same  date  a  second  edict  says : 

"The  members  of  the  Boxer  society  began 
by  taking  as  their  motto,  'Loyalty  and  courage.' 
We  consequently  expected  they  would  do  great 
service  in  expelling  the  oppressors.  But  Peking 
and  vicinity  has  witnessed  many  acts  of  wanton 
pillage  and  murder  by  bad  characters  pretend- 
ing to  be  Boxers.  If  no  strict  distinction  is 
drawn,  internal  dissension  will  be  added  to  for- 
eign war,  and  the  state  of  the  country  will  be 
unenviable. 

"Tsai    Hsun,    in    charge    of    the    Boxers,    is 


SCHEME    TO    ENTRAP    CONVERTS 


237 


hereby  ordered  to  keep  the  members  of  his 
organization  in  strict  subjection  to  discipHne, 
and  to  expel  pretenders  who  are  in  the  ranks 
only  to  make  trouble.  Bodies  of  brigands,  of 
no  matter  what  name,  must  be  dealt  with  as 
brigands  and  have  no  mercy  shown  them." 

"July  27. — Edict :  From  the  time  of  the  prop- 
agation of  foreign  re- 
ligions up  to  the  pres- 
ent, there  has  been 
much  ill-feeling  be- 
tween converts  and 
non-converts.  This 
is  all  the  result  of 
faulty  administration 
on  the  part  of  the 
local  officials,  which 
has  given  rise  to  last- 
ing feuds. 

"The  fact  remains 
that  converts  are  still  '^'^  ^'"^ing  girU  of  Peking 

the  children  of  the  empire,  and  among  them  are 
undoubtedly  some  good,  worthy  people,  only 
they  have  been  led  into  error  by  false  doctrines, 
having  been  misled  by  the  missionaries,  and  have 
committed  many  misdeeds.  They  still  hold  to 
their  false  beliefs,  and  an  irreconcilable  hatred 
has  sprung  up  between  the  people  and  the 
converts. 


238  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

"The  throne  is  now  recommending  every 
Boxer  to  render  loyal  and  patriotic  service  against 
the  enemies  of  his  country,  so  that  the  whole 
population  may  be  of  one  mind. 

"We  now  state  that  the  converts  are,  equally 
with  Boxers,  subjects,  and  must  follow  the  rules 
laid  down  for  all  or  be  destroyed.  If  they  will 
change  their  tenets  and  recant,  we  can  see  no 
reason  why  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  escape 
the  net.  The  viceroys  and  governor-generals 
are  therefore  enjoined  to  issue  the  following 
proclamation :  '  All  converts  who  recant  their 
former  errors,  and  give  themselves  up  to  the 
authorities,  shall  be  allowed  to  reform,  and  the 
past  shall  be  ignored.  The  public  must  be 
notified  of  this  and  each  case  will  be  settled  by 
the  local  officials,  according  to  regulations  to  be 
promulgated  later  on.' 

[A  nice  trap  to  find  out  all  the  converts  and 
exterminate  them.] 

"As  hostilities  have  now  commenced  between 
China  and  the  foreign  nations,  the  missionaries 
must  be  driven  away  at  once,  so  that  they  may 
give  no  trouble.  But  it  is  necessary  that  they 
be  granted  protection  en  route.  The  provincial 
authorities  must  attend  to  all  such  within  their 
jurisdiction.  Let  this  be  done  speedily  and  with 
no  carelessness." 

"July    8. — Edict:    The    posts    about    Tientsin 


LI    HUNG    CHANG    IN    POWER  239 

are  of  extreme  importance,  and  troops  are  being 
massed  there  for  their  defense.  The  seventy-two 
fire  companies,  aggregating  over  10,000  men,  all 
animated  by  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  would,  if 
united  to  the  Boxers,  greatly  swell  the  strength 
of  our  opposition  and  surely  turn  the  edge  of 
the  enemy.     Respect  this." 

"July. — Edict :  We  appoint  Li  Hung  Chang 
viceroy  of  Chihli  and  superintendent  of  northern 
trade  [the  G.  O.  M.'s  old  post].  As  the  guard- 
ing of  Tientsin  is  now  of  utmost  importance, 
we  direct  that  until  Li  Hung  Chang's  arrival 
Yu  Lu,  in  concert  with  Prince  Ching,  consult 
as  to  the  best  measures  to  be  taken.  Pending 
the  change  of  officials,  there  must  be  no  slack- 
ening of  responsibility." 

The  edict  of  July  12  relates  the  conduct  of 
General  Nieh  Shih  Cheng,  commanding  the 
foreign-drilled  troops  from  Lu  Tai,  and  censures 
him,  but  states  he  died  bravely  at  the  head  of 
his  soldiers  on  July  11. 

On  July  15  Tung  Fang,  acting  governor  of 
Shansi,  in  a  memorial,  quotes  the  following  de- 
cree transmitted  to  him  by  the  privy  council  on 
June  20 : 

"A  quarrel  has  broken  out  between  China 
and    foreign    nations,  and    it    is    difficult    to    see 


240 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


how  matters  can  be  arranged.  The  viceroys 
and  governors  have  all  been  the  recipients  of 
imperial    favor,    and    it    is    now    their    manifest 


PASSENGER   WHEELBARROW 

This  picture  shows  the  common  method  of  transportation  in 
vogue  in  the  Chinese  cities  of  to-day;  but  with  the  opening  of 
China  to  western  influences  the  modern  electric  car  will  doubtless 
supersede  this  conveyance,  and,  like  many  other  picturesque  but 
antiquated  features  of  the  country,  it  will  be  relegated  to  the  past. 

duty  to  use  every  efifort  to  make  return,  and  to 
lay  before  us  the  detail  according  to  the  respec- 
tive   circumstances    of    their    several    provinces, 


EMPRESS    UNWILLING    TO   WAGE   WAR    241 

schemes  for  the  selection  of  generals,  drilling  of 
soldiers,  and  plans  for  properly  paying  them. 
They  must  also  suggest  plans  for  safeguarding 
the  borders  of  the  country  from  the  aggression 
of  foreigners,  as  well  as  see  that  reinforcements 
be  sent  to  the  aid  of  the  capital  in  order  that 
no  harm  befall  the  dynasty.  It  is  very  plain 
that  the  situation  hinges  on  the  zealous  united 
cooperation  of  the  viceroys  and  governors  that 
the  situation  be  saved.  It  is  our  earnest  expec- 
tation that  full  assistance  will  be  given,  as  is 
needed  in  a  crisis  of  this  importance.  This  de- 
cree must  be  published  everywhere  with  the 
speed  its  nature  demands." 

^'July  18. — Edict:  [Commencing  now  to  hedge, 
and  to  negotiate  with  the  foreign  ministers  still 
penned  up  in  the  British  legation.  This  is  after 
the  defeat  of  the  imperial  armies  at  Tientsin]. 
The  reason  for  the  fighting  between  China  and 
foreign  nations  sprung  from  a  disagreement  be- 
tween the  people  and  the  Christian  converts. 
[That  is,  the  Christian  converts  objected  to 
being  murdered  and  pillaged  wholesale  by  their 
heathen  neighbors.] 

"We  could  but  enter  upon  war  when  the 
Taku  forts  were  taken.  Nevertheless,  the  gov- 
ernment is  not  willing  lightly  to  break  off  the 
friendly  relations  which  have  existed.  We  have 
repeatedly  issued  orders  to  protect  the  ministers 


242 


BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 


Native  wheelbarrow  —  Tientsin 


of  the  various  countries,  and  have  also  ordered 
the  protection  of  missionaries  in  the  various 
provinces. 

"The  fighting  has  not  yet  been  very  extensive, 
and  there  are  still  many  merchants  of  the  various 

countries  within  our 
domains.  All  alike 
should  be  protected. 
"It  is  hereby  or- 
dered that  the  gen- 
erals and  governors 
shall  find  out  wher- 
ever there  still  exist 
merchants  or  mis- 
sionaries, and  still  protect  them  according  to 
the  provisions  of  the  treaties  without  the  least 
carelessness.  [For  nearly  a  month  after  this  the 
Empress  kept  ministers,  missionaries,  and  mer- 
chants under  the  almost  constant  fire  of  her 
troops  within  two  miles  of  her  residence,  where 
she  could  not  but  hear  every  gun  fired  at  them.] 
"Last  month  the  chancellor  of  the  Japanese 
legation  was  killed.  This  was  most  unexpected. 
Before  the  case  was  settled,  the  German  minis- 
ter was  killed.  Suddenly  meeting  this  affair 
caused  us  great  grief.  We  ought  rigorously  to 
seek  the  murderers  and  punish  them. 

"Excepting  the  fighting  at  Tientsin,  the  prefect 
of  Shun  Tien  Fu,  with  the  governor-general  of 


CONDEMNATION    OF    BOXERS 


243 


this  province,  must  command  the  officers  under 
them  to  examine  what  foreigners  have  been 
causelessly  killed,  and  what  property  destroyed, 
and  report  the  same,  that  all  may  be  settled 
together. 

"The  vagabonds  who  have  been  burning 
houses,  robbing,  and  killing  these  many  days 
have  produced  a  terrible  state  of  chaos.  We 
order  that  the  viceroy  and  military  officials 
clearly  ascertain  the  circumstances  and  unite  in 
reducing  confusion  to  order.  Promulgate  this 
decree  in  such  manner  that  all  may  know." 

"July  19. — Extract  from  a  memorial  by  Chang 
Shun:  'Your  slave  has  examined  into  what  has 
happened  recently  in 
the  whole  region 
south  of  the  imperial 
domain  in  stirring 
up  trouble  that  has 
resulted  in  the  de- 
struction of  railways 
and  telegraphs,  and  a 
morbid  chaotic  mad-  ^'°"p  ""^  "^*^^^''  ^"  ^•'^^  Gardens 
ness  seems  to  possess  the  masses.  Lately  a  tele- 
gram arrived  saying  warships  of  all  nations  had 
arrived,  opened  war,  captured  the  Taku  forts, 
and  Tientsin  was  in  extreme  peril.  The  Boxers 
are  responsible  for  all  this  trouble.  The  whole 
world     has    witnessed    our    sorrowful    condition, 


244  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

troubles  alike  within  and  without.  The  hundreds 
of  millions  of  taels  of  silver  gathered  from  three 
provinces  to  erect  the  railroads  have  been  wiped 
out  completely  in  the  destruction  of  the  road 
by  the  Boxers  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Who 
is  responsible  for  the  Boxers?"  [Answer  —  The 
Empress  Dowager  and  Prince  Tuan,  both  be- 
fooled by  General  Tung  Fu  Hsiang.] 

"July  28. — Yung  Lu  is  granted  the  privilege 
of  riding  in  a  sedan  chair  with  two  bearers 
within  the  walls  of  the  imperial  palace  and  in- 
side of  the  Wan  gate." 


CHAPTER    XI 

NOIV   WHAT? 


AND  now  what? 
Peking  has 
been  reHeved, 
the  city  is  full  of 
soldiers  of  the  allied 
armies,  the  Empress 
and  her  court  have 
fled  westward,  and 
the  capital  has  fallen. 
Will  China  be 
partitioned  and  di- 
vided among  her 
conquerors,  or  will 
she  be  allowed  to 
exist  as  China  under 
another  monarch  ? 
Russia  undoubtedly  wants  immediate  posses- 
sion of  Manchuria  and  Chihli,  with,  very  likely, 
Shansi  and  Shensi.  Japan  is  quite  amenable  to 
further  additions  to  her  own  territory,  and  Eng- 
land, although  disclaiming  any  covetous  feeling, 
is  believed  by  a  great  many  of  her  friends,  and 
all  of  her  enemies,  to  desire  control  of  the 
Yangtze  valley. 

(245) 


One  of  the    many  famous  temple   gates 
with  which    China   abounds 


246  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

Germany,  France,  and  Italy  are  all  discussing 
the  slice  that  they  desire,  and  only  Uncle  Sam 
has  finished  his  task  and  wants  to  go  home. 

But  is  his  task,  finished?  What  about  the 
missionaries  murdered  in  Paoting  Fu  ?  Since 
being  relieved,  we  have  heard  of  the  murder, 
with  shocking  mutilation,  at  Paoting  Fu,  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Simcox  and  their  three  children,  of 
Dr.  George  Yardley  Taylor,  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Hodge,  of  Mr.  Bagnall  and  his  family,  of  Mr. 
Pitkin,  Miss  Morrill,  and  Miss  Gould.  Is  Pao- 
ting Fu  to  be  allowed  to  remain  on  the  face  of 
the   earth  ? 

And  what  about  Yu  Hsien,  governor  now  of 
Shansi,  who  had  all  the  foreigners  in  his  prov- 
ince brought  into  his  yamen  and  murdered  be- 
fore his  eyes  ?  Is  he  to  live  ?  No,  never.  If 
there  exists  in  America  to-day  one  individual  who 
counsels  the  return  of  the  troops  until  the  aton- 
ing blood  of  all  the  leaders  and  instigators  of 
this  awful  crime  has  been  poured  out,  may  he 
be  cursed  forever. 

The  work  is  not  yet  complete.  The  Empress 
Dowager,  Prince  Tuan,  Prince  Chuang,  Yu 
Hsien,  Tung  Fu  Hsiang,  Chung  Chi,  Chung 
Li,  Hsu  Tung,  Kang  Yi,  Chi  Hsiu,  Duke  Lan, 
and  Na  Tung  must  each  and  all  be  brought  to 
the  block,  with  as  many  of  their  followers  as 
possible,  before  the  blood  of  innocent  American 


THE    TASK    OF    REFORM  247 

women  and  children  will  cease  to  cry  from  the 
ground  for  vengeance  on  their  savage,  bloody- 
murderers. 

Then  and  only  then  let  America  claim  in- 
demnity for  the  property  of  her  citizens  that 
has  been  destroyed,  and  retire  from  the  carcass 
that  the  other  nations  will  undoubtedly  fight  over. 

If  China  is  to  be  partitioned,  it  may  injure 
our  trade  or  it  may  increase  it,  but  it  is  not  worth 
our  fighting  for,  when  we  shall  be  sure  to  obtain 
a  great  deal  of  it  under  any  circumstances.  It 
may  be  best  that  our  troops  should  remain  here 
during  the  discussion  of  the  question,  but  they 
should  not  be  used  in  any  event. 

It  is  easier  to  say  what  should  not  be  done 
than  what  should.  A  few  "should  nots"  like 
the  following  will  indicate  perhaps  what  might 
be  done  : 

1.  Boxer  leaders  should  not  be  pardoned. 

2.  Indemnities  should  not  remain  unpaid  for 
years. 

3;  Manchu  banner  pensions  should  not  con- 
tinue. 

4.  Manchu  sovereignty  should  not  remain. 

5.  Manchu  governors  should  not  continue  in 
or  hold  office. 

6.  Tribute  rice  should  not  be  received. 

7.  Imperial  maritime  customs  should  not  at 
present  be  changed. 


248  BELEAGUERED    IN    PEKING 

8.  An  entirely  native  cabinet  should  not  exist. 

9.  Women's  feet  should  not  be  bound. 

10.  Cues  should  not  be  worn. 

11.  Christianity  should  not  be  forced  on  the 
people. 

12.  Priests  and  pastors  should  not  be  allowed 
in  yamens. 

13.  Arms  and  weapons  should  not  be  im- 
ported, manufactured,  or  allowed  to  be  owned 
by  natives. 

At  the  present  moment  Boxers  are  practicing 
in  all  directions  at  a  distance  of  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  miles  from  Peking.  All  of  the 
leaders  of  the  movement  are  at  large,  and  Prince 
Ching  has  returned  to  Peking  to  try  and  arrange 
a  peace.     Now  what? 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITr 


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